Naruto's Final Fantasy
by KitsuneNaruto135
Summary: Naruto can't stand his life any longer. So on the mission to retrieve Sasuke, he decides to end it all. However, Kyuubi doesn't want to die. He will send Naruto to a place where he can start over again. Crossover with Final Fantasy X.
1. The reasons

Disclaimer: I do not own naruto, Final Fantasy X, or Final Fantasy X-2.

"Ramen!" talking

"_So strange"_ speaking Al Bhed (This will change when naruto can understand it.)

"**Insolent human" **Kyuubi speaking.

_More ramen... _Thinking.

WARNING: The first two chapters contain a fair amount of angst, so if you don't like angst, it will be gone at chapter 3. Just to tell you. You may continue reading.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto was extremely depressed today. Everything was going wrong in his life. The ninja had no friends, not even in his own team 7. Sakura was constantly telling him how annoying he was, and Sasuke was being his usually broody self. Although he seems to space out quite often lately, and he seems to have caught the contagious 'hate Naruto' disease since that fight on the hospital roof.

_ "I knew I shouldn't have shown my true self..."_

The truth was, Uzumaki Naruto wasn't the idiot he made himself out to be. He wasn't a genius in any sense of the word, but he was smarter than the average person or shinobi. Now back to the other quarter of team 7, his teacher, the infamous copy-nin Kakashi. Known in the 5 great shinobi countries as the man to have copied over 1000 jutsus, to never have taken off his mask, and to read an incredibly perverted book in public, and sometimes even on the battlefield.

Kakashi...he was beginning to hate that man. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if he was ignored or disliked by his teacher, Naruto would have simply shoved him into the category of 'people who hate Naruto'. However Kakashi had to rub salt in old wounds. Naruto believed that Kakashi had really truly cared, and the hyperactive ninja was beginning to see him as a father figure. But then... at the chuunin exams he had shown his true colors. Kakashi had never cared. All he wanted was to train the last Uchiha, Sasuke to be precise. And in the process had cast off the demon vessel to another teacher. In Hatake Kakashi's eyes, team 7 was comprised merely of the Uchiha genius and 2 extras. And that truth hit Naruto far worse than any punch ever could. It was even worse than the glares.

* * *

There they are again. Those glares... it is to difficult to stand. And it always gets worse the closer it gets to October 10. My birthday, and the defeat of the kyuubi. Wow, im 14 today. Birthdays are supposed to be happy, merry, and fun. Mine never are. The villagers begin to get particularly aggressive around this time. They stare at me in disgust, beat me, and ruin my apartment. I can't call it a home, it never was, and probably never will be. A home is a place where you are comfortable, and have family and friends. I have none of those things. The only real thing I have to my name is my orange jumpsuit and a furry demon fox sealed in my belly.

That's another problem in my life. The Kyuubi... I have long since forgiven him, uh, her, _it_, for attacking Konohagakure. Although I am pretty positive it is a he. However, even though I have forgiven _him_ in my mind, my soul can not truly accept it. I have suffered so much because of him, that I can not just say, 'let's let bygones be bygones' and let it be. I have forgivin him, because Kyuubi had a good reason for attacking the village. He hasn't completely told me yet, but I know he is telling the truth. Because he is in my mind, I can tell if he has ill intentions. Nothing more nothing less.

Now I come to the biggest impact on my life... and most likely...the reason for my decision. Iruka-sensei. Heh, even after all thats happened I can't stop calling him sensei. It seems that Iruka-sensei was ordered to teach and help me. Sandaime could tell I was beginning to crack from the inside out, so he ordered Iruka, the only person that could even tolerate me, to keep me under control. I discovered this from a small and simple mind jutsu that Kyuubi showed me called the mind scan, which can read the surface thoughts of any person. I also used this to find out that Tsunade only liked me because I looked like Nawaki, her little brother. And ero-sennin could stand being with me only because I looked like the fourth. Anyway, I discovered that Iruka-sensei first agreed in order to find a believable way to kill me without anyone suspecting him. He was still caught up on his family's murder at the hands, excuse me, _paws,_ of the nine-tailed demon fox. In the beginning, that was all it was. Over time though, he began to take a liking to me. It developed over the course of the academy, and grew to a climax when I saved his life from Mizuki, using the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu I learned out of the forbidden scroll I read. Those were the happy times...but...

We all know those don't last.

Me and Iruka-sensei grew extremely close. We trained together, I helped him correct schoolwork, and he took me out for ramen. He was like the big brother I never had. He wasn't a father figure, I already had Kakashi to fill that role. It all changed the week after the chuunin exam finals.

Me and Iruka-sensei didn't see each other in that week, he was busy with the school after it was destroyed in the sand-sound attack, and I was with Jiraiya the ero-sennin looking for Tsunade-baachan. When I got back I discovered something was wrong. Iruka-sensei was pale, and looked like he hadn't slept at all in the time I was gone. Whenever I tried to find him he wasn't home or at the ruined academy. I also tried the graveyard, thinking he may have been mourning the Sandaime's death, or maybe the deaths of Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon who died trying to defend the school with barely any ninja training. Or perhaps even the death of his parents again. I found out much later that day, after midnight, where Iruka-sensei was. It was after I searched Konoha using the Kage Bunshin, I didn't bother asking for help, since no one would help the 'demon child', and Tsunade wouldn't know where he is since Iruka-sensei wouldn't take missions while rebuilding the school. I was on my way to the apartment, vowing that I would continue searching tomorrow, when I noticed my apartment door unlocked. I didn't find this unusual, after I considered how long I was gone and how often my apartment was trashed. I sighed as I walked through the door, prepared for a long night of cleaning, when I felt something was wrong. It was kind of like a sixth sense from having fox traits, and I learned to obey these instincts. I walked through the door, preparing to beat up whatever drunk thug thought he could take on the great Uzumaki Naruto.

As soon as I set foot inside the apartment, a kunai sailed through the air, pinning me to the door by my hand and shutting it in one fell swoop. Before I had a chance to think, another kunai in the hand of my attacker came down and impaled my other hand into the door also. I was shocked, and also angry, that I couldn't even defeat a common thug. However that thought, along with all others left my head as soon as I saw the face of my attacker. It was...

Iruka-sensei.

When I saw his face, my heart froze and I swear my soul turned to stone in that instant. He always looked so kind towards me before, but when I saw his face, it made me think that there was nothing of my old Iruka-sensei left. I asked him what he was doing. He said he was going to kill the demon child. He told me everything I am telling you now. When I asked him why he wanted to kill me, he said the only reason he didn't sooner was because he thought 'Naruto' and 'Kyuubi' were separate. But when he saw me fight in the Chuunin exams, and use Kyuubi's chakra, he knew he had to kill me. I was speechless. When Iruka-sensei raised one more kunai over his head to strike the finishing blow, I didn't try to stop him. Kyuubi however, did. He forced chakra through my tenketsus, burning most of them, but throwing Iruka-sensei to the floor. For a split second, Kyuubi was in control, so he snatched the kunais from his two hands, and stabbed Iruka-sensei with both before he could get away. One to the brain, the other through his heart. Iruka-sensei didn't feel any pain. There was no time to.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto was extremely depressed today. Everything was going wrong with his life. So, when he heard that Sasuke had defected to the sound, and he, along with Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, and Chouji, were given a mission to retrieve him, he decided. That tomorrow, when he meets Sasuke, in the final battle...

He was going to end it all.


	2. Sand

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, FFX, or FFX-2.

* * *

"Come on! Hurry it up! Sasuke won't be coming back to Konoha on his own you know!" Naruto yelled at his temporary team of a chuunin and four genins including himself. He screamed this with a huge fox-grin on his face, which looked extremely forced. His team, however, were much too annoyed with him to notice something like that.

"Shut it already Naruto! I don't know why Hokage-sama even recommended you for this mission!" Kiba roared at Naruto, already tired from the constant running.

"So troublesome..." Shikamaru sighed as he watched his two charges banter back and forth. _This is a completely troublesome mission. I can't even watch the clouds through the treetops._ "Naruto, just be quiet for now, all right? We barely even got any sleep last night with your snoring keeping us up."

"I do not snore!" Naruto yelled at Shikamaru.

"You do so!" Bellowed Kiba at the blond ninja.

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Do no-"

"Stop it! Both of you! If you don't shut the hell up I swear I will send you both back to Konoha with your tails between your legs!" Shikamaru yelled. This immediately made the two boys go quiet. They knew that if they managed to even piss off the world's laziest shinobi that they had gone too far.

"Fine then. I'll just have an enlightening conversation with myself. After all, I am much smarter than you guys!" Naruto yelled back, while inside he was chastising himself, even he knew how annoying he was. Maybe this is the reason even his own team hates him?

"Go ahead Naruto, just be quiet."

Naruto fell silent. He knew what his decision was, and that if he talked to Kyuubi he would try to change his mind, but he really needed someone to talk to.

_Kyuubi? Hey Kyuubi you there?_

"**Of course I am kit! Where else would I be? I can't get out of this goddamned cage!" The demon fox bellowed out in Naruto's mind."**

_Oh yeah, sorry about that. I forgot that your very sensitive about your, freedomlessness._

"**That isn't even a word you moron!"**

_I know, but it's so hard to get a reaction out of you otherwise._

"**Never mind kit. I need to have a word with you."**

_I am not changing my mind Kyuubi._

"**But think of what you're doing!**"

_I have, and I believe that this is the right course of action._

"**But you're going to kill yourself!"**

_No im not._

"**Really?"**

_Im going to force Sasuke to do it for me._

"**...how about I teach you some new jutsus?"**

_Jutsus won't help me where I'm going furball. And your starting to sound desperate_. _Better be careful or you might lose your reputation as a bad-ass demon lord._

"**Please kit?"**

_And now you sound like you care! What the hell is wrong with you!_

"_**..."**_

_Kyuubi?_

"**...Naruto."**

_Y-yes, Kyuubi?_

"**You will regret your decision."**

_What?_

It was at that time Kyuubi found it appropriate to send a slight shock of chakra to Naruto's legs, causing them to stop in midair. Which caused Naruto to hit a birch tree at top speed without chakra.

_...I really hope that's all Kyuubi is going to do._

_**Time Skip**_

Naruto is on one side of the valley, almost completely taken over by the viciousness of Kyuubi's demon chakra. He is covered in a red aura, and has a tail made of the aura behind him. The Kyuubified Naruto is currently in the process of creating a Rasengan, made of demon chakra, a technique which rips, tears, and shreds from the inside out. Naruto's rival is on the other side of the valley, Sasuke. He is now powered up by the effects of the cursed seal. The Uchiha has extremely pale skin, and two giant hand-like wings growing from his back as the most noticeable traits in the second level. The raven haired ninja is preparing a move called the Chidori, which was taught to him by the blonde's teacher and is now sent to kill. The chidori is an attack meant only for a quick forward thrust to either kill or disarm an opponent.

These two opponents were charging up for one final assault. Whichever won this clash would survive, the other would surely perish. When both combatants were finished creating their technique, the two jumped towards their now enemy. They met in midair, above the water while screaming their attacks.

"Rasengan!"

"Chidori!"

When the two attacks clashed, everything within a set distance seemed to have stopped. The two rivals continued to push chakra into their jutsu, hoping to overpower the other. The blonde, however had a smirk on his face. The ninja shifted his arm to point upward, and drastically lowered the power of the technique. The demon-vessel hit the Uchiha's forehead protector, scratching through the leaf symbol. Meanwhile, the Chidori was on a collision course with the blond's chest, aiming right for his heart.

_Finally, it will all be over. Uzumaki Naruto will die, and be known as a ninja who gave his life for the village that hated him. That's it... just a little farther Sasuke._

"**Naruto."**

_Ah, yes Kyuubi?_

"**I said you would regret your decision, and I am going to make you. Forgive me."**

_What are you talking abou-_

Naruto was never able to finish his thought. In that moment, Kyuubi used his power to create a giant black sphere, that protected Naruto from the Chidori. Sasuke, meanwhile, bounced harmlessly off and was left sitting on the ground of the valley, gaping in amazement at the raw power displayed in that black orb. In time, white lines began to run through the sphere, dividing it and seeming to split it apart. In the end, the orb disintegrated, leaving an unconscious Sasuke at the bottom of the valley. Naruto was nowhere to be found.

_**Time Skip**_

"Ugh...where...am...I?

Naruto began to wake up after being unconscious for some time. He sat up, seeing most likely the last thing he wanted to see when he woke up after he was supposed to be dead.

Sand.

Lots and lots of sand.

"Kyuubi! Where the hell am I!?"


	3. More reasons and motivation

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, FFX, or FFX-2.

"Kyuubi, you had better start explaining what you did right now." Said our favorite blond ramen eater who was currently standing in the middle of a desert.

**"Why should I? It's quite amusing watching you shout in frustration."**

"If you don't tell me soon maybe I will just 'accidentally' stick my head in the sand and suffocate."

"**You wouldn't dare!" **Kyuubi yelled sarcastically.

"You don't think I would commit suicide?"

**"Oh, I know you would do that. But your social problems are the reason we're here. And stop talking to yourself. People are going to start thinking you're crazy."**

"People! What people? There's no one here!"

"**Wow, you noticed."**

"Kyuubi!"

"**Okay, fine. I'll stop humiliating you for now."**

"For now?"

"**I can't very well stop altogether** **can I?"**

"I suppose not... but can you at least explain to me what is going on?"

**"I guess I can do that much. Remember me saying that it was your 'social problems' that got us into this mess?" **He nodded. **"Well that is partially true. You were about to die, so the same thing happened as always."**

"You mean YOU sent me here!"

**"In a sense. Let me start from the beginning since there is no point in hiding it now. And do NOT interrupt me while I am speaking! I used to be the forest god, or more of a spirit. I wasn't always** **'evil'. I was in charge of protecting almost everything on earth, but mostly the forests.** **There were other spirits to protect other things, like oceans and mountains. The reason I was in charge of everything was because I was strongest. I could best protect it." **

**"One day, however, I was stalking about the fire country, near Konohagakure, when I sensed an incredible killing intent. When I realized what was happening, it was** **to late. I had already taken on physical form and was heading towards the closest populated area, Konoha. I tried to stop, but it was like I was a prisoner in my own body. You see Naruto, what you call 'demon chakra', is a disease to me. A virus. When it 'infected' me, I no longer had control of my body. The chakra has a mind of its own. It began to spread in my body, changing it to what it wanted. Bigger, stronger, it even warped my mind. However, when you're Yondaime sealed me, he sealed the 'virus' as well. It was still there, of course, but it had completely stopped. Frozen, so to speak." **

**"Whenever you use the chakra, it tries to do the same to you as it did to me, but the seal stops it. In the process however, it gains some control. I have some control too, such as the chakra healing you so you can survive, but I force it to heal everything. Generally speaking, the more demon chakra you use, the more control it gets. At the final attack with Sasuke, I admit I tried to teleport you to a different world."**

"Aha! It WAS you then!"

"**Quiet brat! I told you not to interrupt me and I was serious!" **Naruto immediately shut up, slightly afraid he wasn't going to hear the rest of the story. **"Now where was I..." **Naruto grinned a little at this. **"Teleportation normally consumes vast amounts of chakra, which is why you shinobi rarely use it except in your own village, where its safe. Just teleporting a short distance takes more chakra than many chuunins have. However I just teleported you to a new world, how much chakra do you think that consumed?" **

**"I was originally aiming to send you to a world close to your own, you know, ninjas, Kages, that sort of thing. However, with the control the 'virus' had from us both using so much chakra, it tried something desperate. Apparently, what has partially taken me over is not the complete 'virus'. There is some of it here in this world, I can feel it easily, and the part controlling me wishes to join with the part here. When I tried to teleport you, it interfered by sending us to the place it wanted. Since the 'virus' wants to stay here, and demonic chakra is now all I have, there is no way for me to send you back, and you will never have enough chakra to do it yourself in the span of your lifetime." **

Naruto stared in awe at the Kyuubi, thinking about all he just heard. Trying to adjust the all that information, Kyuubi was a little surprised and impressed that he didn't pass out. However Naruto chose that convenient time to pass out.

**"Oh sure that's smart, just conk out in the middle of the desert, its not like you'll dehydrate or anything."** Naruto of course stayed quiet.** "Okay, you asked for it. Time for another of my little 'chakra charges' heh, heh." **Kyuubi then sent a small amount of chakra to Naruto's body, generally electrocuting him.

"Holy shit! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! That hurts!" Naruto yelled while running around in circles anime style.

**"HAHAHAHA! I never get tired of that and I doubt I ever will. Anyway Naruto...get off your lazy-ass and move! I don't want to have tried to save you only for you to die from lack of water!"**

"But Kyuubi, living is all well and good, but what do I have to live for? My life was back in Konoha, and even if I do survive, I have nothing to do here. If I don't die of thirst first I may die of boredom later."

"**Alright kit, I am going to spell out everything and give you your new and most likely permanent S-rank mission."**

"Yosh! I'm ready!"

**"Ok then kit, first, you had no life whatsoever in Konoha. Everyone hated you, called you demon, and the people who did like you had alternative reasons for doing so. Second, everyone here has no idea who you are, where you come from, what you can do, or even your name. You can have a whole new start here, and no one hates you for something you had no control over. In fact, no one here hates you period. And now third and finally, your mission. Uzumaki Naruto, your S-rank mission is to find and destroy the other half of whatever is affecting me. It will most likely try to come after us anyway. If you destroy it, the other half inside me may die as well, leaving you with nothing more than a spirit inside your body. I may even be able to get out afterwards with a physical body, although I won't have any of the power I did have if I can."**

"Why is that?"

"**It's because when the 'virus' possessed me, it ate away all my real chakra and power, and put the demon chakra there in its place. If I do escape without the virus I will only have enough chakra to live on, if any.**"

"That is very sad. It sounds like you're damned if you do, damned if you don't."

"**Not really, I'll be much happier outside of here with no power, than inside with it. Now that's enough talk. Lets move kit!**

"Yes sir Kyuubi-sama!"

**"..."**

"..."

**"..."**

"..."

**"Why did you call me Kyuubi-sama?"**

"Well, I don't have a Hokage anymore. So I guess I report to you right?"

**"I guess so. Just one more name to add to the ever growing list."**

"Yeah! I think now I have Kyuubi-sama, Foxy-sama, furball, jackass, asswipe, bastard, demon lord, and super foxy-sama!"

**"Please someone kill me now..."**

"Forget it Kyuubi! You have me motivated now, and im not going to die anytime soon, whether you like it or not!"

With those last words Uzumaki Naruto walked off into the distance, while having no sweet clue as to what was ahead for him, or which way he was going.


	4. Killer Robots?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, FFX, or FFX-2. I do however own a ps2 with Final Fantasy games.

"Whoa, cool." talking

"_What the hell is wrong with that boy?" _Speaking al bhed. Naruto can't understand this now but will later. (Hell, I don't even know al bhed and I don't really want to learn.)

"**Wow, that must have really hurt, heh, heh." **Kyuubi speaking.

'Nice' A sarcastic tone or a slightly dragged out word.

_Are we there yet? _Thinking

* * *

"So... hot... need...water...now!"

Naruto was currently walking through a desert which he discovered is actually hot a little while ago. After all he had stayed in the forest his whole life. The fourteen year-old had long since discarded his orange jacket and pants, deciding instead to simply wear the sweat pants that he kept on underneath his orange ensemble. He probably would have long since gotten rid of them too, but Kyuubi told him the desert gets unbearably cold at night.

"**Are we there yet? If you were going any slower Naruto we would be walking backwards!"** Kyuubi joked while laying down inside his cage. Naruto had recently discovered that since the fox's secret was out, he no longer had a 'reputation' to protect and could act how he wanted. The blond had quickly learned that Kyuubi's favorite pass time was mocking him. Of course with Kyuubi being stuck in a cage he would try to mock Naruto constantly, and he was doing a damn good job of it too.

"Shut it furball, I would like to see you try and walk in a desert for 4 hours with no provisions." Naruto was quickly growing tired of walking and Kyuubi's ranting.

"**I bet I could if I tried, which I can't so we will never find out either way. However if you're tired why don't you rest in the shade of those odd looking rock formations?" **Kyuubi was referring, of course, to the remains of what looked like an ancient building.

"Yes! Shade! Now if there was some food, water, and money there as well I would be set!"

"**Don't get your hopes up. They will only end up getting grinded and crushed into little tiny bite-sized pieces."**

"You're so pessimistic."

"**No, I am 'realistic', there is a difference you know."**

"Just shut up will you? I want to relax in the shade..." Naruto drawled while thinking of finally getting cool again.

"**Remember Naruto, keep your guard up at all times. Every ninja should know that and yet you keep forgetting!"**

"I don't forget, I just never bother to do it. Besides, there isn't going to be anything dangerous in a desert."

"**Fine, just remember brat, this isn't our world. For all we know there could be tiny walking cacti that shoot needles and drop money when you kill them." Kyuubi joked.**

"Yeah! That would be funny and cool too. At least if there were things like that here we would know what are main source of income would be."

"**Indeed. But remember what I said about getting your hopes up."**

"Whatever." Naruto said while trying (and failing horribly) to tune out Kyuubi's incessant nagging.

Naruto eventually made it to the shade and was had settled down for a rest, when he heard something 'moving.'

"What the hell?" The blond ramen eater yelled, while trying to find the source of the noise. Eventually he gave up, finding nothing of interest and noticing Kyuubi had fallen asleep.

Naruto sat down again, albeit more cautiously this time, and tried to calm his nerves. However this time he 'felt' something moving underneath him!

"Okay, now I know I must be gone crazy." At least this was what he thought, before the entire ground began to shake underneath him!

"AAHHHH! KYUUBI!" Naruto screamed, sounding more like an infant than the trained killer he was supposed to be.

"**Brat! What the hell! I fall asleep for three minutes and you've already made the world fall apart!"**

"I didn't do it! I swear!" The shinobi yelled, before he was thrown from the ground (the shade too) and sailed threw the air a good 15 feet before he landed head first in the sand.

"What did that? Once I get my hands on them I'll..." He said while turning around to find deadly-looking robots equipped with knives poised to kill him.

"Goddamnit! Can't I ever get a break?"

"**I know, you were a demon vessel at birth, you're village hated you, you're sensei hated you, you tried to commit suicide..."**

"It's freaking hot, there is no ramen here, and even those robots are taller than I am!"

"**...You really need to sort out your priorities brat. Running would be a good start."**

"Why? I can take them! There are only like seven... oh no wait some more just came out. Lets see nine, ten, eleven..."

"**Naruto! I will not allow my vessel to die from attacks by robots!"**

"You don't want me to die from suicide, dehydration, or even robots! How DO you want me to die exactly?**"**

"**Just shut your trap and run!"**

And Naruto did just that. He ran as fast as he could with an empty stomach, which wasn't very fast by Naruto's standards. However it was fast enough to outrun the killer machines. When he had stopped running after a good ten minutes, he collapsed, hoping the 'evil screw ups from hell' were far behind him.

"What is it with this place? I sincerely hope you didn't send me to a world with just deserts and demon robots!" Naruto panted out, completely exhausted from his mini-marathon.

"**Uhh...maybe you should have hit them to see if coins would come out?"** Kyuubi suggested.

"Damn...you...fox..." Naruto said on the edge of consciousness.

"**Kit! Don't you dare fall asleep! If you do you won't wake up! And if by some miracle you do, I'll beat you until you pass out again!"**

"Heh, you're getting desperate again Foxy-sama. But I guess I'll take your advice and stay awake a little longer. But, seriously Kyuubi. I can't move. I don't think I can get up."

"**Well, can you at least roll over so you can breath properly?"**

"I'll try..." Naruto groaned as he exerted the last energy he had to flip onto his back and look at the sky. Or he would have, if there wasn't a large shadow blocking his view.

"_What a strange boy. He is way out here, and not even Al Bhed."_ The strange figure said.

"Oh great... even if I survive this, people here don't even speak my language..." Was the last thing the blond said before he fell into the bliss of unconsciousness.

"Hmm... it looks like he survived out here for a long time, and he speaks English as well." A bald man said as if he was talking to himself.

"_Take him back to Home, we may be able to use him." _The man said to the other people currently crowded around Naruto.

"_Yes captain Cid!" _One of the other men said as they began to carry the boy in the general direction of Home.

"I wonder what his story is..." Cid said before he started to follow his crew.


	5. The talk

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto FFX, or FFX-2.

When Naruto woke up, he had an enormous headache. It felt as if something was trying to split his head in two. After a few moments, the blonde got over this and sat up to look at his surroundings. It was familiar, in the type of way that you're used to something you knew you shouldn't be used to. The shinobi was in what looked like a sewer. It was incredibly damp, and very dark. There were some pipes strewn along the walls and many were broken in half, letting the water, or at least he hoped it was water, spill out. Naruto often felt bad knowing that he was forcing Kyuubi to live in here. It was partly his fault, because although he couldn't let Kyuubi out, this was his mind. He should clean it up a bit.

Naruto finally summoned up the strength to stand, and when he did he took a few seconds to catch his balance. Afterwards, the blond walked towards the tunnel on the far end of one of the walls. He knew this was the way to Kyuubi's cage, having been here on more than one occasion. The ex-leaf ninja had never dared to look down any of the other paths, believing many were painful memories. He opted instead to come down Kyuubi's corridor whenever he came into his mind, and even then there were some rather painful memories along the way. The thoughts were usually pictures hung on the walls, or sometimes reflections in the puddles. The ninja believed this was how his mind depicted them, simply as things to look at and remember.

After some time walking through the dank corridor, Naruto was glad to leave and enter into Kyuubi's chambers. Naruto had tried especially hard to tidy up this room in his mind, with little success. The area here reflected the state of his mind. If he was sad or angry for a set period of time, this whole place, not just the Kyuubi's chambers, would reflect that. After being sad for so long, along with losing his 'precious people', the ninja found it increasingly difficult to simply stop the water from flooding into this room.

Naruto examined his handiwork over the last couple of days, and was depressed to find out there had been little if no difference to the large room. If anything, it had gotten worse. He accepted this after a short time and turned his attention to the cage of the kitsune. It took up half the room, which was as big as a castle on its own. The cage was made from thick iron bars which, if they were real, Kyuubi could most likely still snap in two. As it stands, the seal in the middle of the cage was the only thing that kept the fox inside where everyone was safe, and even the fox himself was safe from being controlled again.

When Naruto stopped inspecting his own mind and the Kyuubi's 'home' he finally turned to look at the fox. Kyuubi was siting on his haunches, head up tall and looking every bit the evil demon he was supposed to be. However, that was only for people who didn't know him. Which was generally every single person who ever heard of him, give or take. The only person who did know him, Naruto, knew now that Kyuubi was just as loud as he used to be, and even more annoying. However impossible that may seem. The furball was only looking the way he was so that Naruto knew to take him seriously, for now anyways.

"**Naruto, I know that you have been pretending." **Kyuubi said, with that all-knowing gleam in his eye.

"Pretending? What ever do you mean Kyuubi-sama?" The blonde said, with his tone and smile that Kyuubi knew he was lying.

"**You've been using your mask again. I thought you were going to show all your feelings, get a fresh start. It wouldn't be a good idea to start hiding your thoughts and feelings constantly in a place where you know absolutely nothing. You act like your fine, but you have been doing that all your life. You still can't let go of them, can you? None of them. And especially not Iruka."**

"I will NEVER, forget Iruka-sensei. I can't. If I did I'm sure I would go insane." Naruto said quite calmly while slowly turning his gaze to the floor.

"**Please kit, you don't have to forget them, just accept what has happened and let it go. Listen, we wouldn't have survived as long as we have if we were still lying in the sun. This means that someone must have found us. You have to start showing your true self. If you act like you did in Konoha, nobody will take us seriously." **The kitsune said while gazing at Naruto as if pleading him to understand.

Naruto sighed. "I know Kyuubi its just that... I have had to act this way my whole life, you know? It's... a part of me now. It isn't something I can't easily let go of."

"**I know kit, and I'm sorry if im forcing you to go to fast. The reason is that if nobody in this world can trust us, we will most likely not survive. Until we learn all that we need to know, we need to find somewhere to stay and someone to teach us."**

"You are absolutely right, Kyuubi. However I do have one question." Naruto said, with the beginnings of a smirk tugging at his lips. "My mission is to destroy the other part of what is controlling you, correct?" Kyuubi nodded, having an idea about where this conversation was going. "Well, if one part infected you, there is a strong possibility that the other half infected something strong as well. My question is, how the hell am I supposed to kill something so powerful? I know I'm strong, but I am not going to delude myself into thinking I am strong enough to actually kill it." This time the smirk managed to creep up his face until it was a full blown grin.

"**Well kit, I have been thinking about that. Once we find permanent lodgings and someone to teach us about this world..."**

"C'mon, say it, say it..." The blonde started to chant, knowing for sure what foxy-sama was about to say.

"**I will become your sensei in the ninja arts." **Kyuubi said finally, while Naruto now seemed as if he was about to burst into tears.

"YES! Yes! Yes! Yes! Awesome! When do we start Kyuubi-sensei!"

"**I already told you kit, when we find somewhere to stay and someone to teach us both about this place. Which most likely won't be long. I feel that you are waking up. Time for us to meet our 'rescuers'. Oh and Naruto, keep up the sensei thing. It has a nice ring to it."**

Kyuubi said while preparing himself for whatever he saw when Naruto woke up for real this time.

"Yes sir Kyuubi-sensei! I promise to become the best student ever and to complete my mission without fail!" The blonde yelled with enthusiasm, his heart feeling much lighter than before. The shinobi then began to fade out of existence, ready to meet with his saviors.


	6. Busted!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, FFX, or FFX-2.

Naruto began to awake after being unconscious for so long. This time for real, not in his own mind. However, the ninja had to once again suffer through the splitting headaches that came as a result of entering his own mind. While Naruto was 'recovering' he was also reaching out with his senses. The blond kept his eyes closed, so if anyone was watching him they would think he was still asleep. Once Naruto had confirmed that there was no one else nearby, he sat up to inspect the room.

It wasn't anything like what he was expecting. The shinobi thought this world would either be slow in technology, or far ahead in it. However the room looked completely normal. A bed in the corner that he was currently sitting on. Which was fine, if a little lumpy. Better than a futon at least. He never could get used to those completely. When he slept on them he always woke up with strains and he felt really stiff. There was also a dresser near the door, and both were made out of a strange type of wood. Probably to withstand the heat more efficiently. That was another thing, the ninja expected that any house or building in this desert would be unbearably hot. This room was strangely cool however. He knew that he was still in the desert, the vessel could see it through a window across the room from him. It was closed, but because he was kept in a room with a window the people most likely thought he would not hurt them. Or perhaps they thought he couldn't hurt them? When Naruto finished inspecting the room as best he could at the moment, he heard footsteps coming closer.

The shinobi quickly got under the covers again, hoping to fool whoever opened the door so perhaps he could overhear more information. He would like to know more about these people before he tried to talk to them or ask them questions. The blond heard the door open and evened out his breathing to fake sleep more believably. He heard three sets of footsteps, and from the sounds of it one was considerably larger than the others. Naruto listened to the conversation that was bound to happen.

"_Awww, he still isn't awake yet! How much longer are we going to have to wait!" _Whined one of the people that sounded like a young girl. Or perhaps someone a bit older and more childish, like he used to be. Naruto frowned a little at what he heard. These people most likely didn't speak his language either. How would he get a teacher if nobody understood what he was saying? Or if he didn't understand them?

"_Please be patient Rikku, for all we know he could have been out there for days. We are lucky he is even still alive." _Said another of them, this one sounding like an older man. He seemed to talk to the girl as a father would to a daughter, or at least in a fatherly tone. So those two were either closely related, or very close to each other. They may just spend a lot of time together, he reasoned it was better not to make assumptions so early on in his 'investigation.'

"_But he looks interesting and I want to talk to him! Nothing ever happens around here! But his sleeping is cutting down on 'Gippal time'! Can't we just shake him or something?"_ The girl said. About everything she said was a few decibels too loud. She sounded very annoyed.

"_Just leave him be Rikku. Listen to Cid. Let's just leave and hope he's awake in the next hour or two." _The last person said. He sounded a bit older than the girl. Probably a boyfriend or a brother. Most likely brother with how annoyed they both sounded.

The three people began to leave, while the two younger ones starting shouting things at each other that the blond probably didn't want to understand. When they shut the door, Naruto again, sat up, and decided to sneak about for a bit. It couldn't hurt to find more information himself, right?

The shinobi waited a few minutes, hoping that the people were far away before he opened the door. When he finally did, he realized that he was still in the desert. How could the people live like this? Anyway, the blond found out that he was only situated in a small hut, which there was only four or five of. About a two-minute walk away was the biggest tower he had ever seen! It looked even larger than the Hokage tower! (Which it probably was.) The tower was grand, and it seemed to be made out of metal, not wood or bricks. Naruto slowly began the short trek towards the structure, hoping he wouldn't be seen because there was nowhere to hide on the way there. It was just sand.

Fortunately, he managed to make it to the building without incident. It looked even bigger close up. When he got back enough sense to stop gawking, the shinobi decided to wake Kyuubi so he could see too. However, Foxy-sama was sleeping and for reasons unknown to Naruto, he could never be woken up. He would always have to wake up on his own. There were even a few fights where Naruto wanted to use Kyuubi's power and the fox was in la-la land. He had to wait for the beating he got to wake the Kyuubi up. And wouldn't you know it, when he awoke he said, **"Kit, why is my room shaking?" **At least the furball realized in time what was going on. Naruto had a much higher respect for the average kunai after that. Man do those hurt...

Anyway, Naruto finally decided to enter the tower after his little trip down memory lane. However as soon as he entered the blond had to hide in one of the many dark corners. Why the hell were so many people living in the desert? Surely there are better places. Although the people most likely lived here for a long time, even they must have found it hard to adjust to the extreme heat. All the people wore little clothing. And the ones that did have clothing were either moving around just fine (those people's garments seemed different than others, he was going to have to check on that) or were panting in the shade, obviously tired.

Naruto began to creep along and up the walls. He eventually came to an overhang in the wall and climbed onto it, hoping to rest and observe. He still felt very tired, having just gotten up and having trouble with the heat. It really got to you after a while. The blond peered over the edge of the overhang, and seeing nobody nearby, hopped onto it and gazed down.

It was quite fascinating for him, really. Everyone he knew from Konoha usually had something to do or a person to hate. _Mostly me,_ he thought with disdain. Everyone here were leading fairly normal lives, with the exception of their home being in a desert. There were a few young children playing tag in the center of everything, without a care in the world. A couple of the women were talking at one of the many tables lined up in the shade. However Naruto noticed they were also wearing skimpy clothing. He blushed a little at this and resumed his observations. There was a girl and boy in another corner chatting and kissing every now and then. He smiled a little at this, wondering what it was like to have someone love you. The boy was one of the only people with large, baggy cloths on. He looked about seventeen and had on a type of suit which was mostly red in color, with something large strapped to his back. This reminded him of the sand siblings. Was there some kind of fad with people in deserts carrying large objects around on their backs? The blond will probably never know.

The girl was quite beautiful, if he had to say. She looked to be about fourteen or fifteen. She was also wearing skimpy clothing, although she was more modest than some of the women. She most likely lived here her whole life, or at least close to it. She was wearing a shirt and some shorts, although, once again, they were small. She had blond hair and was jumping around quite wildly. When the ninja looked closer, he noticed her eyes were strange. They were green with a kind of whirlpool pattern in them. In fact, all of the peoples eyes were like that. Most likely a genetic trait of this race. They sort of reminded him of his last name, Uzumaki. _Funny, I shouldn't be comparing people's eyes with my name._ The blond thought with a small smile. He watched as the girl skipped off to do... whatever it is girls do. He really had no idea, and no intention to find out. So he contented himself with watching the rest of the people.

It really was beautiful. Not the actual place, he believed Konoha looked much nicer. What was beautiful was how people acted. Everyone seemed so much nicer and closer. In a ninja village there were always lies, rumors, gossip, spies, and suspicion. Everyone was so cautious of everyone else. Here however, people appeared much closer. It was nice, and a relaxing change from Konoha, Sasuke and the desert. Naruto leaned down on the railing and started to drift off.

_I could stay like this forever... _He thought with a small smile. He was not so lucky however.

"_Hey you! What are you doing? And how did you get up here?"_

_Uh oh,_ he thought. _Busted_!


	7. The arrangement

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, FFX, or FFX-2. If I did, this would happen in the t.v series.

_This is just my luck. _Naruto thought when he heard the voice behind him. _As soon as I let my guard down, someone with probably no ninja training manages to sneak up on me! I am definitely going to get berated for this one... _The blond resisted the urge to turn around, hoping beyond hope that the girl (because the voice confirmed it was) wasn't talking to him. Of course, like always, Naruto only has luck in lotteries, not anything else.

"_Didn't you hear me? Who in the world are you? And how did you manage to get up here! Answer me bonehead!" _The girl said.

Naruto was starting to sweat now. He had just arrived in the middle of a new world, smack dab in the middle of a desert, and this happens? For all he knows he could have broken a law or something.

"_Alright, that's it! Don't ignore me! Turn around! You're coming with me to see Cid right now!" _The girl said, as she reached over and turned him around by his shoulder. She was shocked.

"_You're that boy! The one who we found in the desert! Are you alright? Are you hungry? Where are you from? What's your name? How did you get up here? My name is Rikku!" _The girl yelled as her attitude seemed to do a complete 180. She went straight from mad and curious to excited and curious.

The blond then noticed that it was that same girl he saw with that boy! How long was he up here anyway? It seemed as though she just left!

"_Hey! I said don't ignore me! Why don't you answer me? Do you not like me? You hate me don't you?" _She said as tearsstarted to come to her eyes.

"Oh shit! What did I do now? I'm sorry! Don't cry! I can't understand what you are saying! Just please don't cry! I can't stand seeing girls cry!" The ninja yelled out, starting to panic as he couldn't find out what was wrong with the girl.

"_What did you say? I don't understand." _The blonde girl said as she started to understand what is going on. _"You don't speak Al Bhed do you? Awww, that sucks! That means I can't talk to you!" _Rikku said as she began to stomp every now and then on the floor.

"Hey, now what's wrong! Geez, what is with girls and constant mood swings! I can't keep up..." Naruto sighed, defeated.

"Well, well, well, what have we here? I see our guest is wide awake now." A tall man said as he came in through the same door he guessed the girl came through. The man was bald, but he didn't seem to be very old or anything. He looked like a very capable person. If a bit shady when he looked like he was evaluating the blond boy.

"_Cid! It's not fair! I waited all this time to talk to someone new and he can't speak Al Bhed! What are we going to do with him now!" _The girl said to the man, even though it seemed like she didn't understand what he just said.

"_Calm down Rikku. I have a great idea. Please go and wait in my office. Me and the boy will be there in a second."_The man said in a stern voice.

_Oh, the man is bilingual. At least now this means... there are people who can talk to me! Yes! I'm not totally screwed now! _The shinobi thought with joy.

The girl seemed ready to protest with whatever the man said, but then looked like she decided against it. The childish girl walked back through the same door slowly, as if hoping something would happen to give her an excuse to get excited again. When she finally left, the man turned towards the blond, as if debating something in his head.

"Hey kid, What's your name? And do you speak English well?" The man said at last.

Naruto thought for a moment. No one here knew him, so he didn't need a fake name. Also, the man probably heard him speak so the second answer didn't matter. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and yes, I speak English very well. Why do you ask?" Naruto said, with a bit of suspicion. The man appeared to be thinking hard for a moment, before talking again.

"Fine then. Come with me to my office. We need to talk." The man said while walking towards the same door the girl went down. The ninja followed him cautiously. Although he didn't look particularly dangerous, you could never be too careful. After about a two minute walk the two came to a large door with the word 'CID' on it. _So this man is probably Cid, and that girl is in here because this is his office. _Naruto thought with a smile, very pleased with how well he is observing things. Cid opened the door and told him to go inside. The blond obeyed, knowing that this was most likely his only chance at getting any information. Besides, if he escaped, where would he go?

When Naruto entered the room he was a bit surprised. He expected the room to be extremely fancy with things on the walls and plush carpet, stuff like that. However the room was incredibly bare, even for an office. It was just a normal sized room with a desk, a small two-seat sofa in the corner, and a single chair. Excluding his of course. There were no pictures, documents, drawers, or even a plush carpet! Naruto was slightly disappointed. He thought that with how big the tower was that these people were rich. However he was clearly far off. The shinobi let a small scowl cross his face, now clearly disappointed with his observational skills.

The girl was lying down on the sofa, looking bored out of her mind. She had a look on her face that seemed to scream, 'I wish I were anywhere else but here!' However she brightened up a bit when the two entered, clearly happy that there was no more waiting. Cid went behind the desk and sat at his chair, while he gestured for Naruto to take a seat on the other. Everything was quiet for some time as the two stared at each other, while it looked like Rikku was making faces in the background, hoping to make someone break the silence. At last, Cid decided to speak.

"Well boy, as you may have already guessed by the sign on my door, my name is Cid. That girl over there is named Rikku." When he turned his head to indicate Rikku she stopped making faces, probably acting like this is a game. "Me and my men found you in the desert nearly dead. We decided to take you back with us, however now we have a slight problem. You obviously know what an Al Bhed is don't you?" Naruto nodded, although he had no clue as to what an Al Bhed was. Cid continued. "You see Uzumaki..."

"Naruto." The blonde said, cutting him off.

"Excuse me?" The man said, clearly not understanding.

"Where I come from we say our last names first." Naruto said, but then cursed inside his head afterward. That little bit of information should have been kept secret. It may not have been very important, but he doesn't know anything about these people.

"Very well Naruto, as I was saying, this is the 'Home' of the Al Bhed." _So that explains it... Al Bhed is the name of their race._ "The Al Bhed have mostly been in hiding for quite some time now. Many of us move around to other places, but almost all of us live here. No one, and I mean no one, besides Al Bhed know where Home is. This is because most of the outside world hates us, and we are in constant danger." _They sound so much like me... _"If anybody besides an Al Bhed knew where Home was, it is likely we would have to move again to avoid being wiped out. Let me sum it up for you. You, Naruto Uzumaki, are not an Al Bhed. You know where Home is. I just explained what would happen if anyone discovered Home. So, Naruto, what do you propose I do with you? I obviously can't let you leave. However I don't want to kill you but I will if it will save the Al Bhed."

By this time Naruto was getting rather nervous. This was pretty big, and all he was doing was walking in the desert. What should he do!

"**Ask them to let you stay kit."**

_Kyuubi? You're finally awake! And do you think they would let me stay?_

"**I'm not sure kit, but this place is perfect. You could learn their language, discover knowledge about this world, and this is the perfect place to train!"**

_I understand what you're saying. I will try to get them to listen._

"**Understood. I'm going back to sleep. I've been feeling more tired lately. Probably from using all the chakra combined with you passing out." **And with that, Kyuubi's presence disappeared from Naruto's mind.

"Actually Cid, I was wondering if I could stay here." Naruto said with as much calmness as he could muster. While on the inside he was wondering if he was going to die so soon here.

Cid seemed very shocked that he would even ask suck a thing. Obviously Cid thought that the shinobi would either hate them or be scared to death of them. "Why would you wish to stay here? This is a desert. I don't believe anyone would stay here by choice." The bald man said with suspicion evident in his voice.

"Well sir, I don't really have anywhere else to go. Also, I need a teacher. I don't mind living in a desert if I can get that." Naruto said.

Cid seemed to seriously consider this while looking over at Rikku every few moments. After about an hour to Naruto (which was actually only about 10 seconds) Cid spoke up. "Very well then. You will stay here. However you can't be dead weight. You need to do something."

"Well, I'm going to be training and learning from anyone I can find, but I can do manual labor easily. How about that?"

"That will be fine. Although I am afraid that finding a teacher will be very difficult. What would you like to be taught in?"

"Well, I definitely want to learn your language...and I guess everything else the person knows."

"Hmm...I believe I have a way to benefit us both from this. You see Rikku over there?" Naruto turned to see Rikku sitting upside down on the sofa with her legs up on the wall. She was also playing with a piece of her hair. When the blonde girl noticed that the two of them were talking about her, she left her hair alone and smiled up at both of them.

"Yes, what about her? Does your arrangement have something do to with her?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious.

"As a matter of fact, it does. You see, I can't have you waltzing around unsupervised when I just met you. And you need a teacher. So listen to this, I have been meaning to teach Rikku how to speak English, but being as busy as I am I can't find time. You will teach her English, she will teach you Al Bhed and everything else she knows. While you do work for us, and even after, she will watch you at all times. You keep your mouth shut about Home, you get to stay here. Is that alright with you Naruto?"

Naruto was actually quite pleased with the results. He just solved most of his big problems of this world in one fell swoop. He was a bit nervous about spending so much time with Rikku though. She acted very nice, but... spending every moment with her? That would get... awkward.

"Alright, I accept. But does Rikku have to watch me constantly? Wouldn't that be strange?" The blond asked.

"Perhaps, but there is nothing to be done. Besides, she is already watching you most of the day because of her teaching you. A while longer shouldn't hurt. You will still get some privacy, although you may have to sleep in the same room." Cid said seriously.

"W-w-what? Shouldn't you have a guy do that?" Naruto asked with a deep blush on his face.

"I'm afraid not. We have no one left to spare at the moment due to a certain... project we are working on." Cid told him.

Although Naruto was curious about the 'project,' he decided not to push it. "Shouldn't you tell Rikku about this little... arrangement? After all much of it has to do with her."

"You are correct. I probably should have told her sooner." Both of them turned once again to see Rikku lying along the sofa like the first time. She was humming something quite nice under her breath. Cid then began to tell her something in Al Bhed, which he presumed to be the little arrangement they were just talking about. At first Rikku appeared to be very excited. But as time went on she got paler, and paler, and then she suddenly burst into several different shades of red.

"_WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"_


	8. This isn't so bad

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, FFX, or FFX-2. Get it? Got it? Good.

"_This can not be happening... this can not be happening..."_ Rikku mumbled under her breath. Why did this have to happen to her? She would have to spend so much time with someone she barely even knew! And who knew how long it would be before Cid trusted the guy long enough to take him off constant watch. Oh the humiliation...

"_Please understand Rikku, we can't spare anyone else at the moment. Besides, you two are definitely teaching each other, so you will have to spend a lot of time with him anyway." _Cid said knowingly while trying to convince Rikku, although he knew that this was going to happen whether she liked it or not. He couldn't risk the boy running off if he was really a spy sent to find them or something.

"_But Cid! This is too much! I won't be able to stand this! He is probably really boring and quiet and scary and..." _

"_No, this is final. You will teach him, he will teach you, and you will keep watch on him. I'm sorry but you aren't getting out of this." _Cid said with a tone that said that the conversation was over.

"_Fine..." _Rikku sighed as she realized that she was stuck. She just had to accept this. The blond looked over at the boy she would be 'guarding' for who knows how long. At least he looked nice. Gippal wouldn't be happy with this though.

"_Excellent, you will start teaching him as soon as you both are ready. If you need help just ask me. If I am available, of course. Remember, he doesn't know one word of Al Bhed just as you know no English. Although you both should learn quickly. The two languages are very much alike. You and Naruto will sleep in the 'higher up' quarters simply because it is bigger and you will not be too uncomfortable." _Cid explained with a small smile.

"_Alright then. I guess we should go get set up." _Rikku said with a small smile. She gets one of the good rooms! At least something nice came out of this. Rikku stood and was about to tell 'Naruto' to follow her when she remembered he wouldn't understand her. So she simply made a hand gesture to show him what he was supposed to do. Naruto nodded, and the both of them left the office quietly with Rikku leading the way. There was an uncomfortable silence during the walk to the room, because it couldn't be broken at the moment. Neither of them understood the other.

When they both entered the room, the two were pleasantly surprised. There were bureaus, dressers and plush carpet! There was even a small refrigerator and a table with four chairs. This was the first nicely furnished room Naruto had seen here. He correctly assumed that this was where the more important Al Bhed stayed. He guessed that he was being allowed to stay here because he was teaching Rikku. The blond wasn't entirely sure, but Cid seemed like a definite leader-type person. So he assumed Cid was important here. How important, he didn't know yet. The place also had a bathroom connected on one side of the room, and two beds, although they were a bit close to each other. Most likely in case others had to come in to stay for some reason. Naruto was a little disturbed however. Although the room was nice, it just didn't feel... homey. Which was probably caused by the lack of pictures and because the room was so clean, it looked like no one had ever lived in it.

The two walked so far into the room when Rikku gestured for Naruto to wait here, before she left for a reason unknown to Naruto. The shinobi sat on the bed farther to the right and thought. It seemed like things were finally going his way. Every 'coming to a new world' problem had been solved. He now had a teacher, two actually if you count Kyuubi. He found a place to stay and he could find out the currency used here quite easily. He even had a wide open space to train in. If Gaara could become so strong in a desert he could train here too right? Naruto decided that he could take a little nap, feeling tired and not knowing when Rikku would return. So Naruto eventually dosed off, thinking of the few happy times in Konoha. Those always helped him sleep.

About a half of an hour later Rikku returned with her things. Including her clothes, blades, lock picks, and of course all her hygiene products. She also brought some stuff for Naruto knowing that he didn't have anything. Nothing special, just the bare essentials. The last thing she packed in her bag was a few spheres with images of her mother inside. The blonde never knew much about her mother. She died shortly after giving birth to her. All she had was a few little balls with a picture of her mother inside. However Rikku was satisfied with that. She was happy that she could simply see her mother. The girl always thought that she was lucky to simply had something of hers. (Although it may have been Cid's, since he probably recorded it.)

When she reached the room she knocked on the door, hoping Naruto would let her in instead of her having to get out the key she got from Cid. However after about thirty seconds of no movement she got annoyed. _Great, I'm now living with a jackass who won't even open the door. _She thought disdainfully. After about another minute or so of trying to find her key and finally getting into the room, she saw Naruto fast asleep on one of the beds. _Okay, not a jackass. Just a tired guy. Who is... alright I guess. He hasn't done anything wrong yet anyway. I could probably stand being with him for a while. _She thought with a small smile. After she finished unpacking her things (which took about an hour, she had a lot of stuff in those bags!) the blonde went to her bed and looked at Naruto. She probably shouldn't be thinking that this arrangement was his fault. He had just popped up in the desert after all. He was most likely more confused than she was right now. He hadn't even gotten the chance to get proper clothes! The blond in front of her still only had on a pair of pants, which weren't exactly in the best of shape. They were ripped all over, probably from an attacking Zu or one of those giant lizards that seemed to wander the desert constantly. She noticed that he didn't look weak in any sense of the word. Even if he was short. She giggled a little to herself at this. The boy did have a lot of muscle, and she caught herself wondering if he worked out, or he did something dangerous for a living. Rikku eventually snapped out of it when she realized she was staring, and thanked the gods he wasn't awake or she may have died of embarrassment. The girl finally forgot about whatever she had been thinking about at the time, and settled down for a nap to sort herself out after all the excitement today. The girl turned out the lights, lied down on the bed (not under the covers, the desert was too hot for that) and finally fell asleep.

Even if it was only about seven in the afternoon.

_**Time Skip**_

Naruto awoke to find the lights turned off and everything dead quiet. He turned to see Rikku sleeping happily on her own bed. She had a small smile on her face and was once again humming that same little tune. Although this time it was quite unintentional. The quiet moment was ruined however when Naruto's stomach growled. He was surprised it didn't wake up Rikku, since to him it sounded like it was loud enough to wake the dead. Naruto quickly and stealthily made his way to the fridge, knowing that waking the blonde girl at this hour would cause unnecessary tension. The ninja made it there, and when he opened the door a little light came on. He was expecting this, but hoped it wouldn't wake her. The blonde decided on making a simple sandwich and then going back to bed, however he wasn't lucky. Is he ever?

"_Naruto, what are you doing up? And what time is it?" _He heard the girl ask, although he didn't understand a word she was saying. She seemed to notice this as well and pointed to the bed, and then him. Which was an easy way of asking, 'why are you up?'. Naruto understood this and pointed to the food he had just prepared, telling her that he was hungry. She knew what this meant and lied back down to sleep, too tired to get something herself or start any lessons. _That_ _would start in the morning_, she told herself. When she slept again, Naruto allowed another smile to cross his face. At least they were getting along. It shouldn't be too hard to simply learn from each other if they really tried. And with this happy thought in his head, Naruto practically swallowed his sandwich whole, and then fell back onto his bed. Wondering what tomorrow would bring.

Meanwhile, in Naruto's mind, the Kyuubi was smiling. After only about two days the kit was already having a better time here than in Konoha. He was sure the blonde was going to be okay from now on.

* * *

Thanks for reviewing everyone! Also, I might as well say that this is most likely going to be a Rikku/Naruto pairing. Why else would I throw him in a desert right? However the pairing isn't absolute. If you want something different review. I might consider it.


	9. Lightning

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, FFX, or FFX-2. If I did, you would all bow before my awesomeness! MWAHAHAHAHA! (Cough) Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

Rikku awoke feeling much better than she did in, well, a very long time. Probably because of the soft bed. She slowly sat up and stretched before swinging her legs over the side of the bed and rubbing her eyes. The blond girl walked slowly over to the fridge Naruto had used last night, although she had no memory of the little 'chat' if it could even be called that. She did remember that she had a roommate after about a minute or so of rummaging around in the fridge looking for something to eat. She eventually settled on just a slice of bread and some milk, since she knew that they had to conserve the food. They lived in a desert after all. Everyone had to do their part. The Al Bhed walked over to the boy sleeping happily on his bed, and almost felt guilty for having to wake him. Almost. Instead she raised her leg and kicked him straight off the bed onto the floor. Where he muttered several words that even though she didn't understand them, knew they were curses. When he looked at her as if saying, 'what the hell was that for?' she merely raised the food in her hands and went back to the table. After all, they had to eat quickly and then get started on the languages. The both of them had neglected their studies last night. Also, it would probably be slightly harder for her to learn than he would, since later on when he learns enough she could give him a book to read. However she sincerely doubted he had any books on him.

Naruto watched her sitting at the table, eating away innocently while he sat on the floor after the fall he just took. Perhaps he had slept in and that was why she kicked him? Oh well. It didn't really matter if he did or not. He was used to getting up in the wee hours of the morning. Naruto went to the fridge and decided to simply have what he did last night. After all, he had been eating ramen for his whole life, so he could easily stand eating the same thing several times in a row. Besides, a sandwich was easy to make, tasty, and filling. It was perfect. At least this was what Naruto thought. You can easily tell he has been eating nothing but ramen if he believes a sandwich is amazing and perfect.

When the two were done with breakfast they cleaned out the dishes (just the glasses, no plates or anything. It was only bread after all) with the sink in the bathroom and placed them back in the cupboard for use. Honestly, Naruto hoped that they would start learning the languages as soon as possible. He hated this constant silence.

After they both got dressed, Rikku in her everyday outfit and Naruto in a black sweatshirt and blue jeans, the two blondes continued to the beds and sat down on the one that belonged to them, facing each other. They both knew that they had to do this some time, however neither knew what to do in order to teach. Naruto however had a small amount of experience being friends with Iruka, so he began. First, he pointed to himself and said "Naruto". He then pointed to the girl across from him and said "Rikku." Naruto believed that they should learn what their own names in the two languages was first. Rikku then tried. However she did the opposite. She pointed to herself and said "Naruto." Then she pointed to him and said "Rikku." The girl did this with a smile on her face, clearly pleased with herself. Naruto however just slapped his hand onto his forehead. How could he help her understand these words. The ninja got an idea, and grabbed Rikku's hand that she still had held out. The girl blushed a few shades, and seemed to stammer for a few moments. When she calmed down he pointed to her with her own hand and said once again, "Rikku." He then placed her hand on his chest, which caused her to blush a few more shades. The shinobi then said "Naruto." Then he let her have her hand back. Being oblivious to what he had just done, because of him just being concerned with teaching for the moment. When Rikku stopped blushing, she copied him, completely this time. Naruto smiled, and hoped she knew the meaning of those words. However things were going to become a lot more difficult.

* * *

It had been an interesting two weeks. The two had progressed very quickly in learning the two languages. They were lucky that Cid was right when he said they were both a lot alike. The only real difference between the two was that the letters were put into different positions. Both Naruto and Rikku could speak both languages quite fluently. (Of course, they each knew one to begin with.) Although they usually preferred speaking to each other in English. This was so Rikku could get practice, and so nobody could eavesdrop. They wouldn't know what the words meant even if they did. The two had become good friends. Even when Cid told them they no longer had to spend every minute with each other, they continued to live in the same room (Mainly because Naruto still had to be watched often) and they were seen with each other around 'Home' frequently. (No one had a definite answer for this, although there were rumors...) Even after the shinobi accidentally walked in the bathroom while Rikku was showering, the two just avoided each other for the day, and the next morning it was as if it never happened. Naruto was now trusted more, and he was scheduled for his first dig that very day. Naruto was very pleased with this, and also with how things were going for him. He now had a real home, and friends. Even if many didn't trust him, he knew that they too, would change with time. The blonde was slightly disappointed, however, that he hadn't been able to squeeze any training into his new regimen. Him and Kyuubi simply decided to finish all of his studying first, and continue to train later. Naruto had also shown Rikku how he could walk up walls, she said that it was cool and that she wanted to learn. Both the shinobi and the Kyuubi agreed to show her the way to walk up walls eventually, but decided to refrain from teaching her jutsus or anything like that. For now anyways.

Rikku was also happy with how things were going, but was slightly nervous. While she was teaching him about Sin, he had asked her what Sin was. She was shocked, of course. How could anybody in Spira not know what Sin was? So she began to ask him what he did know about Spira. He sheepishly replied that he didn't know anything, and that was why he needed a teacher. The girl concluded that he had memory loss from Sin's toxins, and since he didn't know of Sin, she decided that it was better if he didn't know. She also thought that an attack by Sin was how he had gotten to Bikanel Island. Rikku taught him everything she knew about Spira itself, although when he asked about something involving Sin, she made an excuse that she didn't know.

However, overall both were very happy. They had both found a new friend, Naruto found someone who cared for him, and Rikku had found someone who understood her and listened to her problems. He even helped her with them sometimes. A prime example could be the blonde girl's extreme fear of thunder and lightning. But mostly lightning. The girl had enough sense to know that thunder was just noise. The shinobi found out, and solved this problem in the same night. It happened around the middle of the second week...

_Flashback_

_Naruto woke up in the middle of the night to hear thunder, and see flashes outside the window. He was worried for a second because the tower was made of metal and was high up, he wondered if it would be like a giant lightning rod. However he then remembered that the Al Bhed had set up extremely high pieces of metal to act as lightning rods throughout the desert. Naruto had always thought that it never rains in the desert. However he was slightly off. It rarely rains, but when it does it comes down hard. The shinobi was about to go back to sleep when he heard a slight sob. He listened for a few seconds, then hearing nothing decided to try and sleep again. Then the boy heard it again. This time he was sure that someone was crying. Turning over in his bed, the ninja noticed that Rikku was gone. Now worried for his friend, Naruto rose from his bed and went to the source of the sobs, which he knew had to be Rikku. He came to a corner of the room, farthest from the window. Rikku laid there, still with her nightgown on and curled into a tight ball, crying her heart out. The shinobi knelt down next to his friend and began to shake her a bit to show her that he was there. When the girl finally did notice, she grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him all the way to the floor, where she proceeded to cry into his chest._

_In most circumstances, Naruto would have been extremely embarrassed in this sort of situation, however he knew that Rikku was honestly and truly scared. So he sat up against the wall to get into a better position. He then crossed his legs in front of him and gathered Rikku into his arms and set her on his lap, facing him. The girl then continued to cry into his shoulder with no signs of stopping. Naruto knew that he would never be able to calm her down enough for him to help her or even find out what's wrong. So the shinobi just sat there, rubbing her back to comfort her and show her that he was there, and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Hoping to calm her down faster so that he could help._

_When the Al Bhed_ _finally began to stop crying, she looked him in the eyes and he saw that new tears were forming_,_ but she looked less scared and... thankful? Naruto was glad he could help. Rikku then buried her head in the crook of his neck again, although the sobs were much less and she could speak now._

"_Thank you for this Naruto. I'm sorry for waking you. And I'm also sorry for getting your shirt wet." She mumbled into his neck, although he still heard her clear as day with his Kyuubi-enhanced senses and ninja training._

"_Hey, no need to apologize. Anything for a friend. I just want to help. So... can you tell me what's wrong?" Naruto asked curiously._

"_Well, I guess I was sort of traumatized when I was little. So I'm really afraid of lightning now. When I was small, I was swimming at the beach when I was attacked by a fiend." She started._

"_Fiends? What are those?" Naruto asked, having no idea what a 'fiend' was. Although some people called him that before he became a ninja, he never knew what it meant and didn't think he wanted to know._

"_Oh yeah, I only told you about the actual Spira didn't I? Not about who or what lived in it. Well, fiends are monsters ('of course,' Naruto thought)_ _that roam Spira. There are hundreds of different ones, although almost all are dangerous in some way. You usually have to fight them everywhere so almost everyone who travels carries some type of weapon. Do you want me to continue?" She said, although there were still small sniffles in between and when there was a lightning bolt she would bury her head in his neck again. Naruto nodded confirming that he wanted her to continue._

"_Like I said before I was swimming at the beach when a fiend attacked me. However my brother was there as well and he tried to kill it with a spell. Do you know what those are?" She asked._

"_Yeah, I read a bit about them in a book. I'll need my teacher to go into more depth later." Naruto said while looking pointedly at Rikku. She giggled a little, and the ninja congratulated himself for this._

"_Very well. When the fiend came and my brother used a spell on it, he missed and he hit me instead. And because I was in the water it was extra painful since it was a spell called thunder. He managed to kill the fiend as well because it was in the water too when it hit, but I've been scared of lightning ever since." Rikku finished with a small frown. She had never completely forgiven her brother for that, although it had gotten better with time._

"_I see...so you're afraid of lightning because it hurt you when you were small? I might be able to help a little, but you need to trust me, okay?" Naruto said while trying to hide a small grin._

"_Okay Naruto, I trust you. What exactly are you going to do?"_

"_Something. You won't like it at first, but I promise it will get better. Now get ready to put your legs around my waist." The blond said. It was at this time that Rikku probably noticed that she was still seated in his lap, and she blushed at this. However she still did as he told her and wrapped her legs around his waist when he stood up so she didn't fall down. He then put his arms around her, one on her back and the other under her legs, for support._ _He then carried her over to the window but not before grabbing another shirt from his bedside. The ninja then opened the window and prepared to jump outside._

"_N-Naruto? What are you doing!" She half whimpered half screamed as he grabbed the_ _windowsill and crawled outside. The ninja then stuck to the outside of Home with chakra, and proceeded to run up the tower_ _with Rikku clinging on to him for dear life. The two eventually reached the top of the tower, which, as Naruto correctly assumed, was very safe. The lightning towers were absorbing all the electricity. The roof of Home was perfectly safe. Rikku, however, didn't know this._

"_Naruto! Bring me back! I don't want to be here! Bring me back to the room..." She once again made that_ _strange half whimper half scream as he sat back down again on the roof. However when he did he pulled away from Rikku long enough to put the spare shirt on her. The rain was still coming down hard. He didn't need to worry about getting sick himself, the Kyuubi took care of that. However he did have to think about the girl in his arms. He might make her sick if he's not careful. Naruto then moved into the same position he was in down in the room, with Rikku sitting in his lap and crying into his shoulder. He knew that he made her worse, but if she didn't face her problem it would never get better. Naruto held her tight, knowing that they had to stay out here but not wanting her to get sick. After about twenty minutes Rikku began to calm down once more. After that the demon vessel turned her around so that she was facing the sky and she thought it was beautiful. All the rain coming down was perfectly outlining the lightning, which she only just know realized was nowhere close to Home. And for the first time... she wasn't scared of it. She was intrigued by it. By how it constantly lit up the sky, making it seem like it sparkled. Rikku then turned back around to Naruto, and hugged him close. She was glad that he did what he did. If not, she would still be crying in the corner of the room. He could have easily left her there, everyone else did, saying that she 'needed more time.'_

"_Naruto... thank you. You have been nicer than anyone else has, including Gippal. Goodnight..." And with that, she fell asleep in his arms._

"_No problem Rikku, anything for a friend. Goodnight." He whispered with a smile on his face, before he started to gently_ _carry her back down to the room._

_End Flashback_

That was the first time anyone had payed so much attention to her, just because they cared. Gippal would have left her alone, saying that she needed to be strong. Everyone else cared only because she was the daughter of an important Al Bhed, one of the most important, actually. That was the start of when Rikku began to see Naruto in a different light...


	10. No Jutsus?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, FFX, or FFX-2! Stop asking me! Please just leave me alone! (sob) No! WAIT! DON'T GO!

Naruto was excited. Today was the day when he would start his ninja training again. The blonde boy could barely sleep the night before and right now he couldn't wait. So why did he wait? Because when he told Rikku that he was training, she said she wanted to come. He didn't know why yet, but if she wanted to come he wasn't going to stop her. He just had to be slightly careful about what he did while training. Wouldn't want to hurt her by accident. He just hoped she would wake up soon, he couldn't stand much more of this. He had too much pent up energy.

The shinobi sprung out of bed and went to make breakfast for the two of them. At least then when she woke up they could eat quickly and be on their way. When Naruto finished he went over to Rikku. She was still sleeping. Naruto was extremely tempted to wake her, but he didn't know if she would appreciate that. So Naruto let her be and went to eat his own breakfast. When he finished the blonde wrote a note telling her the general direction from Home he would be in, and he left. Normally the blonde wouldn't have left her, but this was a special case. To him anyway.

Naruto left Home and traveled North for about five minutes. Far enough to have a lot of room, but close enough for Rikku to find him. It was no wonder Rikku was still sleeping. It was still very early. He doubted any Al Bhed were up. When he reached his spot the boy sat on the sand in the shade of a broken down wall. He never considered what actually knocked down those walls, he simply accepted it. But whatever it was must have been big. The walls looked like they were part of something huge. And some of the pieces were strewn all over the place. After pondering this for a few moments, Naruto pushed it to the back of his mind where he would most likely forget it completely.

_Enough distractions, _the blonde thought. _I finally have the chance to train and im going to train!_

_Kyuubi? You awake?_

"**Yes kit, im awake. And please don't yell so loudly in your mind. After all I am the only one who can hear you." **The Kyuubi's booming voice sounded out in the back of his head.

_Oh yeah, sorry Kyuubi. Forgot about that. Anyway what are you going to teach me?_

"**Nothing you don't already know. The jutsus will come after you get a new summon."**

_A new summon? What's wrong with my old summon? Frogs are cool!_

"**That's one of the problems kit. How long do you think a frog will last out in the desert? The poor thing would most likely shrivel up and die of dehydration. Another problem with the frogs is that they are that frog hermit's summon as well. If we summoned a frog, he could summon one as well and get information on us. Although I sincerely doubt they could make it here, you never know. Remember, those Akatsuki pests are also collecting powerful entities, including demons. If they find out where we are they will eventually use the power to come here. However we can avoid them as long as you don't summon frogs. Then the information on where we are can not get back to Jiraiya. Which means absolutely no one will know."**

_I guess that makes sense. If ero-sennin finds out where we are, it will only be a matter of time before someone gets the information off him._

"**Exactly. So now that the reasons for the summon are out of the way, how about we get to the actual summoning now?"**

_Right! So, what will I be summoning? Something cool I hope!_

"**I'm glad you asked. I will be giving you the summoning contract for foxes, so you can summon my kind whenever you please. Or for whenever I please for that matter. I would like to be updated on what's happening in the fox plane."**

_Okay, I admit foxes are cool but, fox plane? What the hell is that?_

"**This will take some doing. Let me explain to you how summoning works. There is a different 'plane' for every different animal, no matter what it is. One for foxes, frogs, snakes, you get the idea. In this plane, every animal is a spiritual entity. Basically, none have physical bodies. This is also why summoning consumes so much chakra. First, the summoning art 'takes' your chakra, then it uses the chakra to pull a spirit from the plane relating to the animal you wish to summon.** **Once that is finished, it uses all chakra that is left over to create a temporary body for the spirit. If it wasn't like this, summoning would be much less stressful, and anyone could summon a boss. There would be giant animals running all over the place."**

_Wow, I never knew that._

"**I never expected you to. I don't think anyone knows what I just told you. Now can we start summoning? Whether you're ready or not I am sending the scroll over." **Kyuubi said as Naruto felt a chakra buildup, and then a poof of smoke on the ground in front of him told the boy that the summoning scroll was in front of him. The blonde opened up the scroll and saw that there were no other names inside. He felt special that he was the only one to ever summon foxes. Naruto bit his thumb and began to write out his name in kanji on the scroll, however he had to stop halfway through when his thumb healed and he needed to bite it again. When Naruto finished he rolled the scroll up, and it disappeared with a loud poof.

"There, all done. Now I just summon them like I do with frogs, right?" The boy asked curiously.

"**Yes, just keep the fox contract in your mind and you will summon a fox. Give it a try. Just summon a small one though. Don't want to alarm the Al Bheds, do we?"**

"No sir, Foxy-sama sir!" Naruto yelled happily as he bit his thumb once again and started to make the correct hand seals. When he finished the hand seals and molding the chakra heslammed his palm into the ground yelling, "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" When the blonde did this, black runes began to spread from his hand onto the ground, and after about a second a small poof was heard. When Naruto removed his hand, in its place was an extremely small fox kit that the boy guessed could fit into the palm of his hand.

"Awww, kawaii!" The 'trained killer' said as he picked up the baby fox and held it to his stomach. It rubbed into him a few times before curling up in a small ball and falling asleep. "What is it with everything falling asleep against me? First Rikku, then the fox! ...Not that I mind, really. It's nice." He said before he heard someone coming closer. He quickly whispered goodbye to the fox and dispelled it, seeing it disappear in a poof of smoke just as it had appeared. When that was done, Naruto turned to see who was coming, and saw Rikku jogging to get to him. When she got within three feet of him she stopped and bent over, panting.

"Why...didn't...you...wake...me...Naruto..." She panted out as she waited for an answer.

"You were taking so long to wake up so I decided to just go without you. I couldn't stand waiting. Sorry." Naruto explained with a slightly guilty look.

"Don't worry about it. Just wake me next time, okay? So, are you going to teach me to walk up walls now?" She asked, and she couldn't hold back the excited look on her face.

"Sure Rikku, but remember that I can't guarantee anything. You might simply not be able to learn it."

"Oh come on! Don't crush my hopes already! I haven't even tried yet."

"Okay then Rikku, stand right here." The ninja said as he moved slightly to the left, and then pointed to the place where he was just standing. She did as she was told, and waited. "Now, face the wall, and place your hands in this position. It makes it easier." He said as he formed the ram seal with his hands. Rikku copied him perfectly once again. "Finally, concentrate on moving 'energy' to the soles of your feet, then run at the wall. If you did it right, you should stick at least a little bit." Naruto said as he backed off to give her more room. When she believed she was ready, the girl ran at the wall with all her might, began to run up it...and fell right on her ass. The shinobi had difficulty holding in hiss giggles. "Try it again. I'll try to spot any flaws." He said when he calmed down. This time when she ran at the wall he watched closely. It seemed that she was following his directions perfectly, it was just that her chakra wasn't moving the way it was supposed to.

_Kyuubi, what's wrong? She should be going up a bit at least._

"**I believe it is because of her age and lineage kit. Ninjas usually start out young in order to** **condition the chakra coils correctly. However because she didn't start early, she can no longer mold the chakra right. It is also partly because of her lineage. Al Bheds haven't been having ninja training as a whole either, so because of that it is especially hard for her. This is a reason why some clans in Konoha were comprised entirely of ninja. It was to make the next generation even stronger."**

_So she can never do it?_

"**I'm afraid so kit. If she practices she may be able to climb walls, but she will most likely never be able to walk on water or do jutsus. I doubt anyone in this world could. It just isn't possible."**

Naruto sighed. _Rikku will be crushed._

"**Maybe, but it is better than false hope is it not?"**

_I guess so. I'll tell her now. _He thought as he felt his connection with the Kyuubi break. Naruto called Rikku over to tell her the problem.

"Rikku, you're doing all the instructions fine but you didn't start out soon enough. It will take much more practice than I needed to do this, and afterwards you will not be able to do anything more advanced." Naruto said, feeling guilty once again.

"You mean, climbing the walls is as far as I can get?" She asked with tears starting to form in her eyes.

"I'm afraid so. I'm sorry Rikku."

"I guess it was too much to hope for. Thanks for trying." She said with a few sniffles. Naruto was starting to panic again, he hated seeing her cry.

"Rikku, even if you can't do the things I can, you can still learn magic, right? Why don't you learn that? And I'll help anyway that I can?" He said, hoping that she would stop crying.

"Yeah, I guess I could do that. I'll be special by becoming strong in magic and other things. However... you said that I can learn to walk up the wall with practice, right?"

"Yeah...so?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Can I finish learning that first?" Rikku asked with a small grin.

I don't think this chapter is as good as the others. Hopefully he will get his sword next chapter. Then he can train in Kenjutsu!


	11. Bigass sword and Hell Fire

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, FFX, FFX-2, baseball, (you'll understand why soon) or Soul Calibur.(I get a couple of names from there.)

Sorry for the long wait people! Even though it's only been about four or five days, that is a long time for me. Anyway, here is the next chapter!

Naruto felt quite relaxed today. Rikku got over being only able to climb walls pretty quickly. After they returned (about 6 hours later) the two were informed of another dig they were supposed to take part in the following day. The blonde ninja was excited, for this would be his first dig. They finally trusted him! The last dig was called off the day it was supposed to take place due to a freak sandstorm. Although the shinobi was excited, Rikku wasn't. Going on digs was just running your hands through the sand to her. It was always troublesome to work in the sun. She much preferred to stay in the shade, simply doing whatever came to mind. Useful or not.

When Naruto stopped hopping around and Rikku stopped moping, the two went off to help out around home. Well, the shinobi did. The blonde girl just sort of... tagged along. To help only if necessary. At least that is what she kept telling herself. The ninja wanted to help because at least here people didn't really trust him, which can be changed. While over in Konoha everyone hated him.

After Naruto effectively dragged Rikku through the entire tower, she said that she had enough and dragged HIM through home towards their room, where she just wanted some sleep. Digs usually occurred very early so that everyone wasn't about to fall asleep. (Like they would be at night) And so it wasn't too hot. It was too bad she didn't notice that she was gripping his legs and letting his head continuously hit the floor. Or maybe the girl did notice and just simply didn't care?

When Rikku got to the room she kicked the door open and tried to shut it with her foot after she walked in, accidently hitting Naruto in the head with the door. (Ouch!) The vicious, and very tired girl then tried to shut it four or five more times before she noticed what was going on. (That has got to hurt.) The Al Bhed then completely dragged Naruto into the room before she tried to shut the door again. Afterwards she threw the half-dead ninja onto his bed before putting on her nightgown, turning the lights out and crawling slowly into her own bed. Not even paying attention to her most likely brain damaged roommate.

_**Time Skip**_

The next morning the two quickly got ready. (Naruto faster than Rikku since he 'slept' with his day clothes on.) It was quite early, 4:00 am to be exact and even then they were most likely going to be late. The two blondes exited the room and ran down to the small vehicle they were using to go out into the desert. It looked like a large, golden-colored dune buggy to him. They most likely chose this color for camouflage and because it absorbs heat slower than black does.

Naruto and Rikku both climbed into the back of the buggy, where the seats were higher up. In fact they didn't look like seats at all. They were probably just sitting on a part of the back with some fur or something strewn over it. In the meantime two other Al Bhed men climbed into the front with the one on the left driving. They started up the engine, which sounded strange to Naruto. Not like something was wrong, but because he was used to always moving in silence. This thing made so much noise he didn't doubt that everything in the whole desert knew they were coming, which most likely wasn't far from the truth.

After driving for about twenty minutes, they stopped at... the middle of nowhere. Which, it seems was exactly where they wanted to be. Then the driver spoke.

"_I will search to the East, Yama, the West. Rikku will search South and Naruto North. Does everyone understand?" _They all nodded to the captains words. The ninja believed his name was Yamu. Perhaps Yama and him were brothers? _"Good. Remember to search as far as you can from the buggy without getting lost. Now move out!" _The man yelled like a military commander. However Naruto followed his orders and went to search to the North for artifacts. The blonde boy was quite glad that everyone was so spread out. He could... 'cheat' a little without anyone seeing his skills.

When the ninja was far from everyone else, he formed his favorite hand seal and said Kage bunshin no jutsu. At that moment, about fifty more Naruto's came into existence with a poof of smoke. He would have liked to shout the name out like he always did, but decided not to alert the others. The boy then told the clones to start digging all over this region through his mind link. Of course, the blonde himself started to dig also. After about 2 minutes of nothing, he started to wonder how they found anything without bunshins, when he couldn't find anything with them. However at that moment he got a jolt through his link, telling him that one of his clones found something. The original ran over to what he hoped was an artifact. When he saw some sort of rounded wooden handle sticking out of the ground with a small red gem embedded in it, he knew he had found 'something.'

"_Hey everyone, I found something! Come here quick_! _Come on!" _Naruto started to yell, and we all know that Naruto yells REALLY loud. When everyone else arrived, which was forever to the blonde shinobi, he was already running in circles and proceeding to yell his lungs out, even though they were already there.

"_Naruto, stop that. It's embarrassing. What did you find already?" _Rikku said with a slightly annoyed look on her face. She didn't see anything.

"_It's over here! Right here. See?" _Naruto said while pointing to what everyone else thought was a stick.

"_Naruto... is that what you brought us over for? It's just_ _a piece of wood. Now go back to searching." _The Blonde girl said as she was quickly getting very ticked off at the hyper shinobi.

"_Yeah, but it's a piece of wood with a jewel in it!" _Naruto exclaimed, and he could swear that the two Al Bhed men were leering at the piece of wood. It was pretty unsettling.

"_Really now... lets have a look see." _Said the captain for this dig. He bent down and saw that there really was a jewel inside the wood, and he tried to pull the whole piece loose from the sand, fantasies of a promotion in his head. However the man found that it was stuck. _"I can't get the wood out of the sand. Come help me." _He said to the other man, Yama, Naruto believed it was. However even with the two of them pulling it would not even budge. They even called Rikku over to help them and still it wouldn't even move. The shinobi wondered why the captain hadn't asked for his help, but discerned that he wasn't trusted or liked by the man yet. The three Al Bhed eventually gave up, while Naruto sat amused on the sidelines.

"_It isn't going to budge anytime soon. We will have to get more help because it will take too long to dig it out. We would probably dehydrate." _The leader Al Bhed said, while Naruto started to fume silently. He thought that he would be asked to help eventually.

"_Why don't you just let me try? I bet you that I could get it out." _Naruto said while trying to keep his anger under control.

"_Do you mean a real bet boy? Then how about this. If you can pull out whatever that is when the three of us couldn't, I will let you keep the artifact. However, if you can't you have to stay out here from now on, in the desert. Deal?" _The captain said with a grin. Naruto thought about this for a second. It looked like a nice artifact... but he didn't want to risk losing Rikku and his new home over it. However he was sure he could pull it out...

"_Deal." _He said finally. Naruto walked over to the object while Rikku looked sadly from the sidelines. She knew he was strong, but three Al Bhed didn't even make it budge. The girl was worried she was going to lose him so soon. When the ninja got to the object he gave Rikku a confident smile to comfort her, and he grabbed the artifact. It was actually easier than he thought to start pulling it out, and the three Al Bheds eyes bulged when they saw it starting to move. However when it got so far out of the ground it suddenly got much harder to pull. It seemed like it was gripping the sand. Naruto started to mold chakra into his hands to improve his strength, and he started again. He got it even further out of the ground, to where everyone could see some metal. _"It's some type of sword... although it seems odd." _The boy said to everyone else as he continued to draw the sword out of it's sandy prison. It was getting easier to pull out now, but the sword kept coming. It didn't seem to matter how much he pulled, there was still metal coming out. _"It's a big sword. A really big sword." _The shinobi said as if to state the obvious. When the monster finally came out of the sand, everyone was shocked. Naruto was right. It was a big-ass sword. The hilt was what they thought was a simple piece of wood, although they could tell now that there were a few bandages around it to provide better grip. The hilt was wider and longer than a normal one, because it was meant to be used with two hands. The red gem was fastened onto the very end of the hilt. Then came the actual sword. It was gigantic. The metal was extremely thick and dense. The sword was without a doubt longer than Naruto was tall. And there was a good chance it was wider too. Everyone was surprised he could even lift it with two hands, although he seemed to be sweating. The blade itself was quite plain, if a little dull. He would have to sharpen it later. After all, it belonged to him now. At least until it was sharpened he could still swing it around like a baseball bat. He always wanted a baseball bat. Maybe he should give it a name? Not now, maybe later.

"_Well, you got lucky. Keep the sword. It's not like you could use it anyway. It doesn't even look valuable." _On the contrary, this thing was ancient. Even without the possibly priceless jewel, it would still be worth a hefty price. _I'll just have to get the jewel off later, and settle for that. The little runt would never let me take the sword, he might not even let me take the gem. Perhaps I could take it without letting him know... _Yamu thought with an evil laugh ringing in his head.

"_Yes! I got a sword! I got a sword! I got a-" _Naruto was saying in a sing-song voice before he was interrupted.

"_Will you knock it off? We spent so much time on that piece of junk that we can't_ _stay out here any longer. Let's head back. Everyone back to the buggy." _Yamu said as he started began to walk in the general direction of the dune buggy. Naruto hefted the giant sword over one shoulder and used one hand to keep it up, so the sword was vertical down his back and almost dragging along the ground.

The group of four went to the buggy, all having different feelings. Well, mostly. Naruto and Rikku were both very happy, the ninja for getting a sword to fight with, and the girl for Naruto winning the bet and not having to leave. Yamu was angry that he lost the bet and possibly his promotion, and Yama was just confused. When the everyone reached the buggy there was a slight shaking, like an earthquake.The group stopped for some time, but when nothing happened everyone proceeded to get in the buggy and ride off. The blonde boy was too excited to stay quiet however.

"I can't believe it, I finally can train with a sword! And it looks surprisingly like a Zanbatou. Maybe it is one? Oh, well right now I need a name for my new 'partner.' Any ideas?" Naruto asked the Al Bhed girl curiously.

"New partner? I thought I was your old one? Your replacing me?" Rikku said with sobs in between. Pretty much anyone could tell they were fake however.

"I-I'm sorry Rikku! Don't cry! Please? I don't like it when you cry." Of course, Naruto wasn't just anyone. He was too worried about making the girl 'cry' than trying to spot if the tears were real or not.

"Don't worry Naruto. I'm just fooling around with you. What do you want to call it?" She said with genuine curiosity.

"Hmm... how about Senshuken kawari ?" Naruto asked.

"That doesn't sound like English to me."

"That's because it'sJapanese. It means, 'Champion at bat.' I always wanted a baseball bat." Naruto said with pride, even though he was a bit ticked at Rikku for the fake crying thing. He always wanted a bat because sometimes village children would play the game. After they wouldn't let him join (like always) He tried to play by himself but he never had a bat.

"Why in the world would you call it that? And what the hell is baseball?" She said.

"Never mind. It was a stupid name. Hmm... I need a cool, kick-ass name. That will strike fear into my opponents." Naruto said, going into his 'thinking' stance. (You know, where he scrunches up his face?)

"But Naruto, most of your opponents are practically mindless. They won't care if you hold something shiny over your head and give it a name." The girl said, confused.

"Okay, I get it. But I still need to give it a name. Hmm... how about this one, Goukatoushin? This one means Hell fire blade."

"Oh, that one!It sounds cool!" Rikku said enthusiastically.

"Alright then, Goukatoushin it is! I like that name too. Thanks for the help Rikku." The ninja said.

"No problem Naruto. Anything for a friend." The Al Bhed girl said with a smile.

After the name picking was finished, only about 3 minutes of the trip was over with. And Naruto was bored. However the ground then started to shake, like another earthquake. It stopped soon after it began though. And Naruto was curious.

"Rikku? Do you get earthquakes here? Or perhaps just aftershocks?"

"No, we don't. I have no idea what those tremors were either." Rikku said while staring at the ground as if it was going to swallow her whole. At that moment another shockwave went through the ground, much bigger than the other too. It almost toppled the dune buggy. When everyone regained their balance, something seemed to be moving underneath the vehicle! A giant creature came out of the sand, taking the buggy and the four people with it. The animal then started to go back towards the ground, leaving the dune buggy spinning wildly in midair. The two Al Bhed men stayed on because they were in the front seats with plenty of things to hold on to. Naruto managed to avoid falling by sticking to the machine with his chakra. However Rikku had nothing to grab on to, and she only had six hours of chakra control training. So she did what was most natural at the time. The girl screamed as she plummeted to the ground from a height of about forty feet.

"Rikku!" Naruto yelled as he used his chakra to quickly push himself off the vehicle instead of sticking on. With the extra speed, he was quickly catching up to the girl. The ninja then threw his sword to the ground so he would have both hands free, and he grabbed Rikku bridal style. She then wrapped her arms around his neck, obviously thinking they were going to die. However at the last second Naruto once again used more chakra to try and soften the impact. Although a crater was still made and his legs still felt like there was liquid fire coursing through them instead of blood. The two blondes landed quite close to Naruto's sword, which he was glad for. He would probably need some type of protection. Rikku was still in his arms, burying her face in to his shoulder and wrapping her arms tight enough around his neck to almost choke him. When she noticed that she was alright, the girl looked thankfully at Naruto and then turned away to look somewhere else. She was looking at something in the sky. He looked up also and saw the buggy falling, although it seemed to land on four wheels quite easily and without much damage. When the two men discerned that they weren't dead, Yamu hit the gas pedal to the floor and started to race towards Home. Knowing full well that the two blondes were no longer on the back of the machine.

"Bastards! Come back here!" Naruto shouted angrily at them before Rikku turned his attention towards him. And the two blondes both thought the exact same thing in that moment.

_That is a BIG worm._

Thanks for reviewing everyone! Sorry if the explanations are wrong. If you think you know the real explanation tell me. And if you want the name of Naruto's sword changed (although I like the name) tell me also. You can even just give me the right translation. I'm not Japanese so I'm not positive of it.

Senshuken kawari: Translates roughly to 'Champion at bat.' I thought it would be funny to talk about Naruto wanting to play baseball but not having a bat. Now he has a sword to use as one!

Goukatoushin: Translates roughly to 'Hell Fire Blade.' Yes, Hell and fire are separated. Hope you guys like the name of his sword. If you come up with something better, or just a better way to translate it, tell me!

Zanbatou: A sword used in the middle ages by extremely large or powerful warriors. It was a sword designed to be used with two hands. It was meant to kill the horse and it's rider in a single swing. However because of it's poor maneuverability and because no one could use it effectively, it was never used as a weapon again. (If you have trouble picturing the sword, think FFVII's Cloud. He has a large sword called the buster sword. Just remove the two holes and dull the blade.) Presto! You have Naruto's baseball bat! Er, sword. Although with how dull it is you can't call it a sword because it can not cut.

Note: I think there is another type of Zanbatou called a Halberd. (Seong Mi-na from soul calibur uses it.) It is basically a lance with a curved blade on the end. Although they are both Zanbatous, I don't think they were meant to do the same thing at all.


	12. The Sandworm

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the final fantasy games.

Also a big thank you to Infinite Freedom who has been giving me lots of info and giving me ideas for future chapters. Now, on to the story!

Naruto and Rikku were staring down the biggest worm either of them had ever seen. Their eyes were the size of saucers and it seemed as if they were about to pass out from shock. And with good reason.

The monster in front of them was about twenty feet tall, and the two had no idea how long it was, because some of it was still underneath the ground. It was slowing moving back and forth, making it look a little more like a snake than a worm. The creature had a strange kind of mouth that looked like it opened in four different directions. The worm was a dark golden color, most likely to blend in with the sand. A lot of good that did for the dune buggy.

Naruto looked at the giant beast, and knew that he would actually have to fight it. There was no possible way he could outrun it, and there was no where to hide. Naruto reached down and grabbed his sword, although knowing it wouldn't do much good in this battle. He would have to summon something. A big fox. Actually, a huge one. The ninja knew that summoning a fox consumed much more chakra than frogs did. However when the shinobi tried to contact Kyuubi to ask for more chakra, he discovered that the fox was sleeping.

_God dammit_! _What a time to take a nap! And what are the chances this thing is going to let me even try to wake him! _The worm answered Naruto's question by lunging at him, moving much faster than one would expect for a creature of it's size. Naruto dodged to the right to avoid the monstrosity. But the blonde boy wasn't fast enough to avoid the creature's tail that had exited the ground from underneath him. It seemed the tail was much longer than the ninja once thought it was. Naruto was knocked high into the air, his sword flying. Rikku then fell from his arms and hit the ground about thirty meters away, struggling to get up again. The girl was too winded from the blow to move correctly, and she was forced to lay still on the ground, trying not to pass out.

In the meantime, Naruto used this time to try and contact the Kyuubi again. The shock from the blow seemed to have woken him up.

"**Kit! What the hell did you do? I take a nap on what I presumed would be a boring dig, and I wake up to find you being attacked by a giant worm! A bloody worm of all things! How did you manage that?" **Kyuubi's booming voice echoed out in the blonde's head.

_Never mind that Kyuubi! I need chakra! I have to summon a fox. Now! _Naruto thought desperately as he saw the worm preparing to attack again.

"**Alright Naruto. Just don't kill yourself. Or I will never speak to you again! Obviously."** Kyuubi said with dry humor as he began to channel demon chakra directly into the shinobi's system.

The worm wasn't going to stand idly by though. It had sensed that Naruto was the stronger of its prey, and decided to go for the immobile meal. Which was Rikku in this case. While the ninja was still gathering chakra, the fiend opened its maw, and started to suck in air. Creating a miniature tornado. The monster then pointed its mouth towards the girl, and began to try and make her come to it. Rikku began to rise off the ground, and being partly paralyzed at the moment there was nothing she could do. Naruto noticed too late what was happening, too focused on gathering energy for the summoning technique. When the boy saw the girl enter the monsters jaws, he felt like breaking down. He saw the creature swallow, and imagined her falling into its grotesque stomach. Naruto noticed soon after that she wasn't dead, however. The boy could still sense her chakra signature, although faint. The kyuubi had taught him to feel out signature, in order to pinpoint an enemy's location.

"**Be careful kit! If you use a large summon now, you might end up killing the girl when you kill the fiend!" **Kyuubi warned.

_I know... I'll just have to summon something smaller for now and get Rikku out first. Then I kill the worm. _Naruto thought determined.

Naruto started out by biting his thumb, and then he began to make hand seals rapidly. When the ninja finished, he slammed his hand into the ground, shouting "kuchiyose no jutsu!" Strange runes then began to appear from his hand, coating the ground just like every other time he used this jutsu. In a poof of smoke, a silver fox with two tails appeared. The fox was about the size of a horse.

"Hello, Naruto. My son has told me about you. My name is Tsukiakari. Pleased to meet you." The fox said, its voice definitely female.

"What? You're son? Oh, you must mean that tiny kit I summoned yesterday." Naruto guessed.

"Yes. Now, what do you ask of me?" She said as the worm started to once again turn its attention towards Naruto.

"You need to help me defeat that worm. Just don't kill it yet, my friend is inside and we must get her out first." The ninja said as he climbed onto the fox's back once Kyuubi told him to.

"Very well." She said as they took off at lightning speed, barely dodging the worm's headbutt. The two went around the worm, trying to find a weak spot. When none could be found, Naruto grabbed his sword on their second pass, then ordered Tsukiakari to circle in close. The worm may have been fast for its size, but it was still too slow to keep up with the fox. The monster lifted its tail up, and then dropped it, most likely hoping to crush the two. It was still too slow however, and the fox merely jumped and climbed over the tail. While circling the worm, Naruto held his sword out to the side. Using chakra to keep it lifted because he was to weak to lift it with just one hand. The sword easily started to cut through the thin hide of the worm, even though the blade was quite blunt.

The worm started to screech and moan in pain, while thick green blood started to pour from the wound Naruto was opening with Goukatoushin. The shinobi then felt the ground start to shake again, while the worm's tail seemed to have burrowed underground. The tremors then got worst, making it almost impossible to stay upright. The blonde boy then saw stone pillars begin to rise from the ground in random place, although all were around him. He correctly guessed that the worm was controlling the earthquakes, and the stone pillars as well. The spikes began to get closer, and Naruto with his summon had to move quickly from side to side to avoid getting skewered.

The demon vessel ordered Tsukiakari to rush up quickly and she did so. Naruto knew he had to get Rikku out fast. He didn't know how long she would last in there, and he couldn't kill the worm while she was in the stomach for fear of crushing her. When the fox had gotten close enough, Naruto jumped off and landed on the fiend itself. He then stabbed his blade into the creature repeatedly, all within the same area. Drawing more of the thick green blood he was quickly beginning to hate. Hoping the monster would eventually get sick and throw Rikku back up again. The boy eventually got his wish, the creature lurching back and forth, the maw of the beast opening and closing. Before finally, although covered with saliva and who knows what else, Rikku came out of the fiends jaws. Falling extremely quickly. He watched the girl fall, and his fox companion easily catching the blonde girl on her own back.

Knowing that his friend was now safe, Naruto decided to end this as quickly as possible. Using chakra, he easily scaled the worm, which was tossing around in pain. When he began to get closer to where he suspected the brain to be, the boy began to swirl chakra in his hand. Creating the famed Rasengan in his right palm. Naruto was glad he didn't mess up, it was still difficult to control it with only one hand. With a small smirk, the ninja leaped onto the creature's jaws, and planted the spinning ball of death right above it, where the eyes would have been if it had any. The chaka easily tore through the thin hide, just as his sword had, and slowly sunk deeper in. He could feel the Rasengan ripping and shredding through the monster, cutting into the even softer flesh inside. When Naruto believed he had gotten far enough inside he stopped the technique, letting the monster slowly fall towards the hot sand. The boy focused a bit more chakra to the soles of his feet, propelling him off of the worm and towards his fox companion and his blonde friend. The worm hitting the ground with a loud thud.

Walking towards the two, Naruto noticed that Rikku was awake, watching him. Although she was wet with strange fluids and slightly trembling, she was still smiling at him. Naruto smiled back at her and also got onto the fox, which was fascinating to the girl. She still didn't know where the giant fox came from. He held on to Rikku from behind, knowing that she could still very well fall off. After asking the Al Bhed girl the way to Home, the three set off. And, hopefully, in the right direction. After all, Rikku was passed out for most of the fight. Naruto still had some payback to dish out to those two Al Bhed bastards...

Thanks for reviewing everyone! Wow, my first fight scene! Cool! I hope I did alright. I hope everybody liked the fight. Ja ne!

Kuchiyose no jutsu: Summoning technique. A summoning scroll must be signed for this to work, and even then you can only summon the animal you made the contract with. It is possible however to have multiple contracts.

Tsukiakari: Roughly translated means 'moonlight.' I kinda like this name. I think that this fox will be the summon Naruto uses to ride long distances. Not so much fighting.

Worm: The sandworm. Anyone who made it to Bikanel Island should know about this one. Low defense, humongous HP. Its tail can cause earthquakes when drilled into the ground. In this story, it can also create stone spikes.

Rasengan: The prized technique of the Yondaime. It is quite literally a spinning ball of death and destruction. Unlike most other high rank skills, the Rasengan isn't all brute force. You don't have to push it hard into the enemy, because it causes very little surface damage. The brunt of this attack comes from its ability to rip and tear through an opponent from the inside out.

Mind Scan: Remember this technique? For the people who haven't forgot, you are probably wondering why he hasn't used this since the first chapter. The mind scan is a surprisingly simple technique for reading the surface thoughts of people. However, if a person is hiding a secret, or simply doesn't want Naruto to know something, he can't learn it from them. He can only tell the thing that is going through their mind the exact moment he does the Jutsu.


	13. Torture

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the Final Fantasy games.

Two blonds were riding a silver fox throughout the desert. One holding on to the other. Naruto was sitting closer to the back of the fox holding onto Rikku, making sure she didn't fall. The girl had already fallen asleep. The boy still had his Goukatoushin strapped to his back, which was now his favorite weapon. However the ninja was extremely pissed at the moment. He didn't even bother to watch where they were going, knowing that Tsukiakari could find the way quite easily. The blond boy was thinking mostly about what he would end up doing to both Yama and Yamu when they made it back to Home. Oh, he was going to make them pay dearly...

While Naruto was plotting, Rikku wasn't actually asleep. She was thinking about what had happened. Not only had a giant worm eaten her, but Naruto was powerful enough to kill it. She was even betrayed by two of her own people. But what she finally realized, was that she barely knew anything about her blonde friend. How can he stick to walls? She had never asked, she just simply accepted it. The girl didn't know about the boy's family, his home, his friends, or his abilities. However, she vowed that she was going to find out. With that the Al Bhed fell asleep. For real this time.

About two hours later (which was much longer than the buggy ride, but Tsukiakari found it hard to find scents in the sand) the three could finally see Home again. Naruto decided to let Rikku sleep though, while he went to find Cid. After all, she was the one eaten by a giant worm, not him. When the two blonds riding the fox came close to Home, they attracted quite a few stares. Which was most likely because they were riding a giant (by their standards) silver fox. The shinobi decided that they were getting too much attention, and dispelled the fox in favor of walking. After a while though, Naruto noticed that people were still staring. He knew that it was strange for him to be carrying Rikku bridal style, but why did they all look like they'd seen a ghost?

The ninja ended up brushing it off to focus more on getting to Cid's office. A little more than halfway there however, the blonde boy ran in to Gippal. The man looked shocked also. What was so strange? He decided to simply ask. He had talked to Gippal a few times, but they weren't buddies or anything. They just tolerated each other.

"_Gippal, why is everyone acting like they have seen the living dead? What happened?" _Naruto asked curiously.

"_N-naruto, Rikku, we heard that the both of you were dead." _Gippal said with confusion evident in his voice.

"_What! Who told you this?" _Naruto thought for a moment. _"It was Yama and Yamu right? It was them that told you we were both dead." _He said with a slight growl.

"_Yes, they did. But I see that you are both alright now. I also imagine that you would like to speak to Cid as soon as possible. Would you like me to take Rikku up to her room for you?" _Gippal said while stretching out his arms to take the Al Bhed girl.

"_Alright. I need to speak to Cid soon and get this mess all fixed up. Thank you."_ Naruto told the man as he gave Rikku to him. They both went their separate ways then.

Naruto wasn't happy at all. Not only had the two brothers left him and Rikku in the desert with that worm, they had told everyone they had died! Those two...

When he arrived at Cid's office he could hear three people talking. The ninja was familiar with all three. Cid, Yama, and Yamu. Apparently they still haven't finished telling the tragic story of how the blondes 'died.' Naruto immediately strolled into the room, shocking all three occupants. Although Cid was less surprised. He probably knew that they would survive whatever was out there.

"_Well you two, if Naruto was 'swallowed by the sands' as you say, why is he standing right in front of us? And Naruto I am guessing Rikku is fine as well?" _Cid asked. Naruto nodded in response to his question and the two Al Bheds were beginning to get very nervous.

"_Sir, I believe these two have lied to you and nearly cost me and Rikku our lives. Would you mind if I thought of a suitable punishment? I promise I won't kill them." _The ninja said with a big fox grin and a glint in his eye. Now the two men had nearly wet themselves, and were constantly looking towards the door for a slim chance at escape.

"_Very well. And welcome back." _Cid said with a smirk in the direction of the two men.

For the rest of the day, many people could hear mysterious yells and screams all throughout the top level of the tower. Many claimed it was ghosts, others claimed it was Naruto and Rikku's spirits seeking vengeance on their murderers... Which wouldn't have been far from the truth. Not everyone had been informed of the two still being alive yet. Naruto had the perfect punishment for the two traitors. But that tale would wait until another day...


	14. Breaking Bonds

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the Final Fantasy games.

I realize that some people have noticed the OOCness in Naruto. Especially with the whole torture thing last chapter. That is because in my story Naruto isn't an annoying blonde urchin with a below 0 I.Q. (Well, I suppose he is still sort of annoying.) While Naruto is still optimistic and happy most of the time, he is capable of getting angry. I guess he is also going to go to greater lengths to protect his precious people. Remember, it was partly the two brother's fault Rikku was eaten by the sand worm. Besides, where Naruto came from being stabbed was a normal everyday occurrence. He didn't even kill the two, only hurt them a LOT.

* * *

Rikku awoke from her sleep about an hour later, and was a bit disappointed that Naruto had already taken care of the two brothers. She wasn't put down by this very much though. She was simply content to be back in her own bed and home.

Gippal also ended up coming by, but Rikku felt weird with him around. She no longer got that warm, fuzzy feeling whenever he hugged or kissed her. She began to feel slightly disgusted by it actually. She didn't hate him or anything, and he was still her friend, but she didn't think she liked him in 'that way' anymore. And the poor girl had no idea why. (So naive) The Al Bhed knew that she would have to break up with him but she didn't want to hurt his feelings. Gippal still seemed to like her. If she could just figure out a way to break it off without destroying the small friendship they had, that would be perfect. However the poor girl couldn't think of a way. She just had to lay it all out for him, and hope that there were no hard feelings.

Rikku found Gippal later that day with some of his friends, including a raven-haired Al Bhed girl who was practically clinging to him. The blonde girl didn't particularly care about this though. She didn't like him anymore, so he could be with who he wanted. She went over and asked him could she talk in private. He talked with the guys for a few more seconds, and then followed her out the door. They ended up stopping in a hallway to the pantry. The people usually only go there first thing in the morning to get food for the only restaurant in Home. The Al Bhed go there, get the food, take it to the restaurant, people buy it. Simple. Although some people try to take food straight from the pantry to avoid paying.

The two Al Bhed stopped halfway down the hallway with Gippal looking even more smug than usual. He looked very handsome standing tall like he was, with his gun strapped tightly to his back. Although she didn't find him really attractive anymore either. Rikku really had no idea what was wrong with her. She even found herself mentally comparing him to Naruto. The Al Bhed girl shook it off in order to prepare for what was going to transpire.

"_So Rikku, why did you call me back here?" _Gippal asked, although he sounded as if he already knew what she wanted.

"_Well, you see Gippal..."_ She said starting to slow down. _No don't stop, remember just say it quickly and get it over with._ _"I don't think that we can be... together, anymore. I don't really think I like you in that way. No hard feelings?" _She asked hopefully.

Gippal was silent for some time. This was obviously not what he was expecting. After a short time of silence, you could tell he was angry. In that moment she knew that whatever remained of their friendship was gone.

"_You're... breaking up with me?" _He said, sounding much more angry than heartbroken.

"_Yes, I am. I'm sorry Gippal." _She said, now a little more scared.

"_There's another man isn't there!" _He said, now starting to raise his voice and sounding furious.

"_Wha-" _She started before being cut off.

"_I said that there's another man isn't there? Who is it! Wait... its that Naruto kid isn't it!"_

"_What are you talking abou-"_

"_I knew that you two were spending to much time with each other! You two have probably already shared a bed!"_

Rikku was now starting to turn several shades of red, but not all of them were from embarrassment. Many were from anger. How dare he accuse her of cheating on him when he was with that floozy girl! She was practically seething. She may not have cared about the two being together now, but she bet that they were acting like that when she and Gippal were together as well.

"_I never want to see your face again! Get out of my sight Rikku! You will be sure that your father will hear about you having a relationship with an outsider!" _Gippal yelled at her.

"_Fine then! I never wanted to see you again anyway! Why else would I break up with you!"_She yelled as she pulled back her fist and decked him right in the face, sending him to the floor.

"_Yo-you...you... hit me..." _He started surprised, but that too soon turned to anger. _"You'll regret doing that." _The man said as he stood up once again, and slapped her. Rikku fell to the ground just as he did, with tears brewing in her eyes.

"_I'll make sure you regret hitting me." _Gippal said again, raising his hand back to strike her again. When his hand was grabbed from behind and pushed further on his back causing pain. His arm was bent further back than it was supposed to.

"_Hey now, there's no need for that. Are you alright, Rikku?" _Naruto said, as he kept Gippal still. He had obviously been in the pantry the whole time, listening to their conversation if the apple in his hand was any indication. Rikku was starting to get slightly annoyed with constantly being 'saved', but she supposed that it wasn't unwelcome. He was very nice, and he cared for her. Unlike Gippal. At the moment she wished she were strong enough to kick his ass on her own. However she knew that it wasn't going to happen. Not yet at least. Maybe she should take the training a bit more seriously?

"_Yes Naruto, I think I'm alright." _Rikku told him while absently rubbing her red cheek and trying to dry the few tears that were left. When Naruto saw this he tightened his hold on Gippal making him scream for a second, before pushing him towards the exit to the corridor.

"_Leave now Gippal. You won't like me when I'm angry." _Naruto said seriously. The foolish Al Bhed was about to attack the blonde boy. However he quickly changed his mind when he saw Naruto's eyes flash blood red. Gippal left slowly and throwing a backwards glance at the two that seemed to promise pain. When the ninja was sure the man was gone, he turned back to Rikku.

"_Are you sure you're alright?" _He asked, worried.

"_I'll be alright soon, Naruto. I just need a bit of rest. Can we leave now?"_ The shinobi nodded, and Rikku dried her last few tears before she smiled and went back to the room with Naruto.


	15. I really hate these things

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the games in the final fantasy series.

* * *

Naruto was still worried for Rikku. Although she said that she was alright, he could tell she was very upset. The boy was a little confused though, he always supposed that Rikku had lots of friends here in Home but her latest attitude says otherwise. She said a couple of times since 'the incident' that he was now the only one she could trust. He contemplated asking her why he was the only one, but decided against it. He didn't need to bother the poor girl with that right now. He would ask her sometime later.

* * *

Only two days later, Rikku was completely over Gippal which was just fine in Naruto's books. He couldn't get why she broke up with him in the first place though. Maybe he slapped her before, while they were still dating? There were many questions the ninja wanted to ask but thought that they were either too personal or not important.

That morning, a messenger came by their door with a letter. However the man looked strangely at Rikku before leaving. The girl seemed confused for a second but then shrugged it off. So Naruto did the same. The message was in a plain white envelope, nothing special. The girl opened the letter and began to read aloud.

"To Naruto and Rikku, (Does anyone know Rikku's last name by the way?)

The two of you have been chosen to partake in an important salvage trip. You will be retrieving an ancient machina from the bottom of the ocean. This mission is extremely dangerous, so it is acceptable to refuse it. However, if you take the task and complete it along with a crew who will be manning the ship, your reward will be great. The crew has already been chosen, the divers are all that is required. If you refuse, Gippal and Motoka will take your place. Write your reply on the bottom of this letter and the messenger will come back to get it shortly.

From Cid."

Naruto and Rikku shared a look, and that was all it took for Rikku to write her reply. She replied positively. They both knew that the blonde boy would immediately sign up for it, and she knew that she would follow him wherever he goes. Just like the letter said, the messenger came by again a few minutes later. However he once again gave Rikku an unreadable glare before he left. The two were definitely confused by this point. They both knew that they had to concentrate on their new task now though. The whole team would leave fairly soon. Naruto would never understand why Al Bheds told of important events on such short notice. Wouldn't it be easier to send the letter about a week in advance?

Later that day, Naruto and Rikku were climbing into the dune buggy that would carry them to the edge of the island. After that they would board the ship and go to the middle of nowhere to search for some machina thing. Rikku had her twin blades strapped to her hips and a few grenades in a pouch near her blades. Although Naruto didn't have a sweet clue as to what grenades were. The blonde girl simply told him that you throw them at the enemy. Naruto had his Goukatoushin strapped to his back, and a few potions in his pouch. The blonde boy also had some homemade soldier pills, but they would do little for his humongous chakra reserve. Kyuubi told him how to make some simple ones, but on such short notice they couldn't be made very well. It would most likely take five of his to total one of the regular soldier pills.

The two climbed into the back of the buggy while two unknown Al Bhed climbed into the front seats. The four took off, and Naruto still felt strange with how much noise they were making. Thankfully, it was an uneventful ride to the ship. There were no attacks by killer robots, giant worms, or humongous birds called Zus that the Al Bhed always talked about.

The ship was also nothing special, although it was big and seemed incredibly sturdy. There were no decorations, or ornaments, or anything like that. Al Bheds seem to value function over appearance, which is how a ninja should be. Naruto had finally realized his orange jumpsuit was idiotic. It was like wearing a big neon sign that said 'hey, im over here! Kill me first! Me!' When everyone climbed onto the boat, Naruto noticed that you could go down below deck, near the hull. There was even a crane onboard, probably to bring up heavy artifacts. The ninja also saw a couple of other Al Bhed, who seemed to have stayed on the ship throughout the night. It only took about five minutes before the ship set off.

Why was everyone rushing so quickly? There seemed to be nothing of great importance going on. And yet everyone (excluding Naruto and Rikku) was running around like the world depended on them. He hoped it didn't. Because if it did, even though it sounded cruel, he thought that they didn't have a chance at survival. He wasn't going to put his life in the hands of these Al Bheds.

Naruto and Rikku talked through most of the time it took to reach the ruins. The two chatted on about whatever happened to come to their minds. When they came especially close to the site however, the blondes immediately calmed. Some of the ruins were above water, and there were many fiends here. The two were confident that they could kill anything that was here, but better to be safe than sorry. The massive ship came as close to the crumbling rocks as it could without the risk of a scrape to the hull. If that were to happen, everyone could very well become stranded here.

Rikku went down below deck to get their orders, while Naruto stayed above. He liked it out here. There was crisp, clean air. Even though it was very foggy. The blonde started to wonder how long they were going to stay here. The shinobi needed to get out of the desert for a while. A short while after Rikku left, Naruto heard sounds of a battle. Metal against rock, metal on metal, and then a few sharp cries before it started all over again.

The ninja looked around deck to see the crew calming down, and just as he hears a battle as well! So incompetent... He couldn't believe that he was like that as well once. The boy knew that Rikku could be gone for at least a few more minutes, and the fight could be over by then. Besides, he had to check if the fighters were a threat right? Naruto nodded to himself, pleased with his excuse. So as silently as he could, the ninja leapt from the deck and onto a rock some meters away. He then started hopping from rock to rock, towards the sounds. They seemed to be coming from inside the ruins.

After about a minute of this, Naruto had already made it inside the structure and he heard a frustrated yell come from the ship. The shinobi smiled when he thought of Rikku's face when she realized he was gone. However at that moment he heard another cry, which convinced him to pick up his pace. The sounds were getting farther apart from each other. At first the sounds appeared one after the other in quick succession, now they were much slower. Which likely meant that one of the combatants was tiring. That was assuming, of course, that there was only two fighters.

When Naruto entered the main chamber, he gathered chakra to his feet and leaped up to the ceiling. Where he stuck firmly. The ninja then looked down. It looked like a boy with a red sword was being attacked by a fiend. The guy had blond spiky hair, and blue eyes. Naruto was disappointed by this. He thought his hair style, hair color, and eye color were all unique. Well, he knew that other people had blue eyes, but how many had blond spiky hair? But here was a copycat who looked just like him. Unless you count that he was taller and didn't have whisker marks. Naruto was brought out of his musings when the boy was attacked by the fiend and was cut by its sharp claw. The fiend had four legs, and it was constantly moving. He couldn't even think of an animal to compare it to.

The shinobi decided that this had gone on long enough. He positioned himself, then dropped from the ceiling while unstrapping Goukatoushin. He turned so that his sword was pointing straight at the ground. However, before it got to the ground it hit the fiend. The sword sliced through the creature with ease and went straight through to its underbelly where it then proceeded to gouge the ground out. The monster spilled out more of the green blood as it died. Naruto was positive it had to be poisonous. He was not going to take any chances. The ninja ripped his sword out of the creature while jumping away from it and the other blonde.

Naruto was about to yell at the other guy but stopped when he heard a scuttling sound. The other man obviously heard it too as he stood perfectly still as if hoping whatever it was couldn't see him. The shinobi looked throughout the chamber, but the noise was coming from every direction. The scuttling finally revealed itself in the form of six more of the creatures. A few were even on the walls and ceiling.

"Oh man... I really hate these things." Naruto said as the boy behind him absently nodded.


	16. The slaughter

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the final fantasy games. So leave me ALONE! I don't have a problem...

And to everybody, Naruto is MEANT to be ooc in this fic! I thought I had already talked about this two chapters ago? You can tell me about it, or complain about it, but Naruto is meant to act like that in my story. I probably won't change him. (Actually, I should say I definitely won't change him.) Naruto is a shinobi! A trained killer! As much as he would hate it, he would have had to change sooner or later. Everyone knows that a person who kills and smiles while doing it is insane.

* * *

Naruto and a strange boy that looked slightly older than him were currently in the middle of an ambush. It seems that the monster Naruto just killed had friends. A lot of friends. A lot of very angry friends. The ninja hefted Goukatoushin onto his shoulder in order to get into a fighting stance, albeit a sloppy one. The blond behind him was doing the same, although at least Naruto could say he was better than this guy. The shinobi shook his head, clearing away these thoughts. It wasn't the time to compare the two of them. The monsters were climbing along the walls quickly and effortlessly, reminding him vaguely of spiders. The fox-boy shuddered at this. Naruto began to back up, moving closer to the boy. Although he didn't know a thing about him, there was strength in numbers. It would be better for the two of them to fight for now. Hopefully the other guy could fight well enough not to be a burden...

Naruto cut this thought off as one of the creatures grew impatient and lunged at the shinobi, hoping for an easy meal. The ninja easily sidestepped to the left, and then held his sword out to his right so it was directly where he just was. The monster couldn't stop in mid air, so it ended up being cut in half, from head to tail. Naruto sighed while jumping back from the possibly poisonous blood. At least compared to the sandworm he had fought, these things were weak. The ninja quickly resumed backing up, trying to get as close to the other blond as he could. Thankfully, none of the other monsters were fool enough to try and jump him. Opting instead to slowly surround the two humans.

Naruto backed up the last few feet, while the other blond turned around and began to do the same, making the two of them hit back to back. This was the best position for ambush, while like this it was particularly hard for the enemy to surprise you. Although the shinobi deduced that the monsters weren't very smart, he knew that they would still try for a cheap shot to the back if the opportunity arose. It was like an instinct in all animals, if you could even call monsters that.

The fiends were closing in on the two blonds. There were now 8 of the things circling them, since more and more were dropping from the ceiling. Every minute or so of waiting seemed to cause another to fall, lowering their chances of survival. The two knew that leaving the safety of the other would be suicide. Eventually, another fiend grew impatient and lunged at the two. Naruto was already facing the creature, so he used his sword to take a good slash at it, slicing it easily. However the shinobi stopped giving force to the slash about halfway, meaning the fiend was dead, but still stuck on the sword with its blood dripping onto the ground. Naruto had counted on this, so he reared the sword back, and then snapped it forward quickly, sending the fiend flying and landing on one of its companions. The ninja watched as the creature shrieked and screeched while trying to get out from under its dead comrade. It looked like the monster was in a great deal of pain. So, he was right. The blood was very poisonous, and possibly acidic. He would have to be careful about even killing these creatures. Several more of the monsters grew angry at the two, and jumped at them from several angles. Naruto sliced and hacked at the fiends, making sure to throw each away and hopefully into another of its kind. He turned to look at the other man, seeing him doing the same, albeit with much more difficulty. It was harder for him because he obviously was a novice with a sword, and the very sword he was using wasn't meant for throwing. Of course, Goukatoushin wasn't either but it was definitely easier due to its extreme size.

After about thirty seconds of this, the monsters seemed to stall for a time. While the two blondes were panting. It was getting very difficult for Naruto to keep going, and he hadn't even used Kage Bunshin yet! It looked like he had more work to do than he thought he did. Naruto had believed that although Goukatoushin was large, because of his high chakra reserves he could simply pump up his muscles to lift it. It had been working so far, ever since he got up this morning he had been using chakra to more easily lift the hulking mass of steel. But the constant chakra use was starting to take its toll. It was going on for too long, and he had to exert even more power to even swing the blade! Ditching it and fighting bare-handed was not an option either. He would have to get in to close, and there would be a better chance of becoming poisoned. This didn't look good at all. They were tiring too quickly, and there were too many fiends. Even now, at least 4 more had dropped from the ceiling, hoping to feast on the two blond swordsmen. And he could still see a few more hiding in the shadows.

Naruto absent mindedly slashed at another fiend that had ventured too close, while trying to come up with a plan to save their hides. It was obvious the other blond wasn't thinking of one, he was too preoccupied with keeping the creatures away. He didn't seem to notice that at the rate things were going, they were going to die.

Just then, Naruto heard a noise over the constant scuttling of the monsters. What was that?... then he heard it again. It sounded like...explosions? Rikku! Oh yeah, the team was supposed to come here anyway to search for machina! They just had to hold out a little longer, to give the Al Bhed time to blast through to this place. They must not have been able to find the entrance he went through. Naruto smiled as he chugged down one of the few potions he brought along, and tossed the other blonde one. It didn't help him much, but it might give him enough strength to hold out until help arrives.

Naruto and his look-alike were currently slashing away at the fiends, and it seemed that the ones on the walls were watching them, learning from their movements. It probably was why the monsters were getting harder and harder to avoid and kill. He could hear the explosions coming closer, so at least that meant Rikku and the others were getting closer but couldn't they hurry the hell up! As Naruto thought this he lost his concentration for a moment, letting a fiend through his guard and having it make a rather large gash on his chest.

Naruto hissed in pain as he swung his sword, making the monster back off. He then dropped to one knee, with his right hand holding his sword and his left holding onto the rather large wound.

"Damn it all..." Naruto said as he once again flinched from the pain the gash was giving him. With one hand, it would cost him even more chakra to lift his massive weapon. Chakra that he didn't have. So, he turned to his last hope for survival.

"_Kyuubi? Kyuubi! Are you awake? Please say you're awake!"_ Naruto said with desperation in his voice. If Kyuubi wasn't awake, there wasn't anything he could do about it. He still hadn't found a way to wake Kyuubi while he was sleeping.

"**Yes kit, I am perfectly awake. And I can also see you're in a little... situation. Need help?"** Kyuubi teased, knowing full well that Naruto needed help badly.

"_Yes I need help! I need chakra to heal my wound and last me until Rikku gets here! And I really need it soon!"_

"**Well, it might be dangerous to give you that much. My 'other half' so to speak, will definitely sense it and come here. And with your current condition, that isn't a good thing."**

"_Forget about my wound then and just give me enough chakra to survive."_

"**Very well. However there is still a chance it will come after you. Are you going to accept whatever consequences this creates?"**

"_Yes, of course! Just give me the damn stuff already!" _Naruto was in no mood to argue with his life being on the line. So the fox directed chakra to the shinobi, hoping that the thing they are supposed to defeat doesn't attack them first.

Naruto felt the transformation that happens whenever he uses the demon chakra take hold. He felt his muscles bulge with strength and power, and he felt his nails lengthen to form claws. And although he couldn't see it, he knew his whisker marks were now darker and more defined. And his hair was now even more untamed then it usually is. However just like he told Kyuubi, none of the chakra was being directed towards his injury. That would only heighten the chance of attracting that stupid parasite.

Naruto knew that the longer he stayed this way the more danger he would be in, so he decided to kill the fiends instead of waiting for them to lunge at him. The ninja leaped from the relative safety of the other man and towards the monsters, intent on finishing this fight, or slaughter as it would be soon.

He landed between two of the creatures and spun in a circle, cleaving them both in two with ease. Their blood was pouring and falling everywhere, but he didn't really care. Until he stopped using it, the demon chakra would protect him from damn near anything. He began to run towards his next target, his legs moving so fast it almost seemed as though he was flying. When he reached his target Naruto slid onto the ground and underneath the creature, holding his sword vertically the entire way. When he had cleared the monster's underside, he didn't stop to witness yet another victim being sliced into two pieces. It was the easiest way to kill them, Naruto reasoned. With his giant Goukatoushin cleaving his enemies in half was the quickest and most efficient way of dealing with them. Naruto still didn't stop however. He literally became a whirling hurricane of blood, pain, and death. Whenever he dealt with one target he didn't stop to gloat, he simply moved onto the next. He didn't even spare the ones that tried to scurry up the walls to safety, he either jumped or applied chakra to his feet to reach them.

Within a few minutes the entire population of fiends had been reduced to zero, and Naruto was quite pleased with himself. Even while completely covered in the green blood of the monsters he didn't feel bad. The shinobi knew that it was the demon chakra making him bloodthirsty, but he didn't particularly care. He was only killing monsters. At least he wasn't killing actual people like he would have been if he went nuts in his world. That would definitely make him sick to his stomach. After he had killed the last monster, Kyuubi stopped channeling the infected chakra and Naruto felt much pain. From his wound and the blood covering him. At least he was wrong about the acidic part, all the green blood seemed to do was cause pain. Which he could handle. For a time, anyway. The ninja surveyed the damage he had done. The floor was covered with the fluids of the monsters, and their body parts were everywhere since he sliced almost all of them in half. Like he thought before, it was quick and efficient. In the middle of the carnage was the boy he had saved, gawking at him.

"Uhhh...hi?" Naruto said unsurely. He didn't know how the boy would react to what he had just done.

"Whoa... I mean, hi. My names Tidus. What's yours?" Tidus said, although he still sounded shocked.

"My name is Naruto. Pleasure to meet you, Tidus. Although I would have liked it if we met somewhere besides here."

"Yeah, same. You're really strong tho-" Tidus was cut off as the door to the room flung open and all of the Al Bhed ran in, including Rikku. Obviously, they were all shocked to see the slaughter that had happened in this room. Rikku was the first to shake off her daze however, as she saw Naruto with some strange guy right in the middle of everything.

"Naruto!" She yelled as she began running towards him in slow motion.

"Rikku!" Naruto yelled as he began to run towards her also. This probably would have been very romantic, if Naruto wasn't covered in green goo, Rikku wasn't carrying grenades, and they weren't surrounded by monster corpses. However the two continued to run towards each other, and at the moment they were supposed to hug, (or kiss) she decked him. Hard. And in the face too. Ouch. Naruto was sent rolling across the floor, finally stopping about 6 feet away.

"What the hell is wrong with you! You go running off, and when I find you you're surrounded by parts of fiends! How many did you fight exactly? And are you alright?" She calmed down slightly at the end.

"Yeah...sure...its not my blood. Mine's red. I do have a little cut though." Naruto said, still dazed from the punch and his wound. After all, it was more than a 'little cut'. And he felt as if he was going to go unconscious.

"Don't do that anymore alright? Always get my permission before you do ANYTHING from now on. Alright?" Rikku ordered. However her words went unheard..

Naruto had passed out, after all.


	17. Where am I?

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto, or any of the final fantasy games. Get it? Got it? Good.

Thank you for reviewing everyone! (Im very lazy, so im not going to name them all out. You know who you are.) And special thanks to Infinite Freedom and causeiambetta, I really enjoy reading the reviews you two give.

* * *

Naruto slowly but surely awoke from the bliss he called unconsciousness. He didn't have to worry about anything there. Although he could hear Kyuubi nagging every now and then. When Naruto had finally gotten some sense, he realized he was in a bed. Kind of hard, but still a bed. When did he get here? The room he was in was sparsely furnished, meaning no one permanently slept here or it was rarely used. Naruto guessed he was back on the ship so it was most likely the later. And he was also wearing different clothes from earlier. All he was wearing now was a plain white T-shirt and blue jogging pants. When did he change into these? He didn't remember... While the ninja was contemplating this, the door opened and a certain female Al Bhed entered the room. When she saw that the shinobi was awake, she immediately went to the bedside.

"Are you alright now? You passed out so suddenly down inside the ruins. I thought you were in real trouble." Rikku said as she sat on the edge of the mattress.

"Really? Nah, I am way too strong to let those weird creatures get the better of me! You don't have to worry." Naruto said with a huge fox-grin in Rikku's direction.

"That's a relief. And you did a lot of damage too. There were fiends lying everywhere." She said, emphasizing the 'everywhere.'

"Yeah...I did some damage didn't I? So, did you simply leave all the fiends where they fell?" He asked. He didn't like the idea of all the monster corpses being left there for anyone else who comes to these ruins. However he also didn't like the idea of Rikku and the other Al Bhed cleaning up the 'mess' that he made.

"Oh, we don't have to worry about that. Fiends turn into pyreflies not long after they die. The blood disappears as well...but it takes a while if it is far from the body." She explained to him. Naruto thought she sounded odd while telling him this, as if trying to give a reason for something. She also blushed slightly, which extremely confused him. Weren't you only supposed to blush when you're embarrassed? He decided to ignore this for now. Probably not any of his business.

"Alright then. And can I ask one more thing?" Naruto said.

"Sure, what do you want to know?" Rikku said, the color beginning to recede from her face.

"How did I get into these clothes? I don't remember changing at all..." As Naruto said this, Rikku's face once again began to flare.

"U-uh... well you see... after you passed out, I brought you back to the ship-"

"By yourself?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Yes, because I had my suit on the blood couldn't get on to me. There was a chance it could with the other Al Bhed." Rikku explained to the ninja.

"Oh yeah, I forgot I was covered in that stuff. Continue." Naruto said, now especially wondering what happened to his clothes. Had they melted or something?

"Well you see, after I brought you onto the ship and into this room...I realized all of the blood wasn't going away. You know, turning into pyreflies? So I had to... I had to..." Rikku stuttered.

"Rikku?..." The ninja said, now unsure if he even wanted the answer to his question.

"I had to change your clothes!" The Al Bhed girl yelled as her face burned at least ten different shades of red.

For a moment, silence ruled in the tiny room. Rikku seemed to be turning an even darker red instead of changing back to normal, and Naruto was simply staring off into space. His eyes were getting wider every second that passed. Eventually he spoke, albeit unevenly.

"So... does that mean that you saw me n-n-n-..." Naruto stopped, hesitant to say the 'n' word.

"NO! Uh, I mean, I only saw your boxers..." Rikku explained, trying to save herself. It didn't seem to help much though. Naruto was still staring into space, just not as intently as before. Maybe he would stop in a few hours if she were lucky. However, she knew that they didn't even have that sort of time. So she merely slapped him, and then she did again. And then again. The first was to wake him up, the next was to make herself feel better, and the last was just for good measure.

When Naruto came out of his daze a good thirty seconds later (the slaps didn't seem to help much) he was prompted to get out of bed and onto the deck of the ship. His 'friend' was there, and they also had to go underwater to complete the mission. Naruto had nearly forgotten about that. When the two had reached the deck, they saw all of the Al Bhed scrambling to get ready for the dive. Tidus was sitting near the crane, just staring at the proceedings. Naruto decided not to bother him right now. Him and Rikku had to prepare for their dive, and he didn't want Tidus to ask to come along or something like that.

The two blondes wandered over to the side of the ship where Rikku said their suits were. Naruto looked at his suit skeptically. How was this supposed to help him underwater? All it was really was a water proof jacket, and pants. Then he looked up at Rikku and just sort of... stared. He couldn't understand why all of the outfits for female Al Bheds either showed a lot of skin, or hugged their figure 'very' tightly. He forced himself to look away from his friend, shocked at himself.

_Dammit all... Kakashi and ero-sennin have turned me into a pervert as well! Damn them..._

Naruto continued to say in his mind. He thinks he figured out why the girl's outfits are like that. It's because the one who made them was a pervert. It wouldn't surprise him, almost every adult he has ever met has been a pervert.

Naruto made himself forget these thoughts when he noticed something important... how were they going to breath underwater? He didn't see any specialized gear or anything of the sort, so he decided to inquire about it to the female Al Bhed.

"Umm...Rikku? How are we going to breath underwater?"

"With these breathers." Rikku told him as she finished zipping up the suit, and simply handed him a small metallic device attached to a strip of cloth while taking a similar piece and wrapping it around her head so the metal was over her mouth.

Naruto looked at the breather suspiciously, not believing the little thing would save him, but he shrugged and decided to trust Rikku and wrapped the cloth around his head. The shinobi nodded to Rikku to let her know that he was ready, and they both prepared to jump off of the ship.

"Ready?" They both said at the same time, and laughed a little at this.

"3..."

"2..."

"1..."

The two suddenly heard the sound of something large in the water from the other side of the ship, along with a cry of, "It's Sin!" In Al Bhed.

Both blondes immediately turned to see a gigantic monster in the ocean, which was blue and white from what could be seen. It also looked like it was covered with extremely hard scales. The two were scared, but had two different thoughts running through their heads. Naruto was thinking, _what the hell is this thing!_ While Rikku was thinking _oh no, we're all gonna die!_ Some where in the middle, Kyuubi was thinking, **I guess we found what we're supposed to destroy.**

Naruto heard this and immediately knew of the danger they were in. If this thing's 'brother' could quite easily destroy Konoha, this ship was going to be like a toy to it! _Damn it, we must have used too much chakra after all. This is bad._

Sin was looking at the tiny ship that seemed to house what it was looking for. It wasn't a very patient thing, so it simply lifted one of it's fins, and dropped it near the ship. A giant wave washed over the vessel, taking quite a few of the crew overboard. However the monster still sensed something. So it took it's fin and did the same again, and again. Waves continually crashed into the boat, knocking more people off time and time again.

Tidus had already been swept off the ship, Rikku was latched onto the crane, and Naruto was hanging onto one of the many boxes stacked on deck. Other crew members were hanging onto ropes and poles as lifelines, and many seemed to be praying. For what, he didn't know. Probably simply hoping to get out alive. At least it wasn't false hope. As long as the monster didn't crush the ship, the chance for survival was high for everyone left onboard. With one more wave the box Naruto was holding on to, and Naruto himself, both swept off of the vessel. He thought he heard Rikku calling his name, but at the moment he was concentrating on surviving. The shinobi began to use the technique Kyuubi had just taught him, reveling in the air it brought through the pain of the burns.

Sin could feel that whatever was there was gone, and moving very quickly and erratically. The creature decided to wait for it to stop, so it sunk beneath the waves for a rest it didn't need. It would be quite some time before it lost so much power it needed to , Naruto was being swept about by the ocean currents, with no control over where he was heading.

_**

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**_

Naruto began to awake on a beach, and decided at that moment to stop going unconscious and to start going to sleep normally. Whenever he passed out he awoke somewherecompletely different then where he was before. After a few minutes of lying on the sand, the ninja felt as if he would break his 'vow' already. He was too weak to stay awake. However he heard footsteps approaching, and tried to stay conscious for a little longer.

"Where...am I?" He managed to get out. Naruto heard a few words he couldn't make out, but understood one that was probably the name of where he was. The last thought Naruto had before he passed out again was...

_Where the hell is Kilika!

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_

HA! Didn't see that coming did ya? Hope everyone likes it. I will try to update again soon, okay? Oh, and here is a word of advice for everyone.

"Never, and I mean NEVER, underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers."

I had to laugh when I heard this, so I thought I would share it. Maybe I'll find another one for next chapter. Anyway, Ja ne.


	18. Toxins? Sure, whatever

Disclaimer: You know, I am getting really sick of saying this. I do not own Naruto, or any of the Final Fantasy games. All I own is this plot. Well, I do own the games actually. (Holds up FF game cases.) See? This is FFX, this is FFVII...

* * *

Naruto awoke to a dull throbbing in his head. The pain was very little, more of an annoyance to him than anything. When he opened his eyes however, he groaned at the sight of the unfamiliar ceiling. Why couldn't he wake up in the same place he closed his eyes for once! He couldn't really complain about where he was though. If he recalled correctly, he had passed out on a sandy beach. This place was definitely more welcome than there. The ninja stood to get a better view of his new environment, and to try and locate his sword. His clothes were gone (although they were in bad shape anyway) and he was now wearing only a pair of dark blue pants. They hadn't taken his kunai pouch, so he assumed they weren't hostile. The room he was in had a very homey feel to it. There were many colors, although he realized quickly it was mostly different patterns of just red, blue, and green. There was a small coffee table in the corner of the room, which was probably moved aside when he was brought here. Many ornaments hung on the walls and were placed in other places around the room, almost all of them looking very expensive. Some were just plain weird. Like a statue that was placed on the dresser in front of him. It vaguely resembled a human, but it was deformed with limbs all over the place. Where the mouth was supposed to be was a wide hole, giving the impression that the statue was yelling. Honestly, the little figure startled him and he quickly looked away.

Even the floor looked expensive, although he guessed by now that most of the things in this room weren't worth half the money it seemed they did. Nevertheless, Naruto tread around cautiously. He didn't want to accidently break something and anger the people who took him in. The shinobi walked to the door while trying to make as little noise as possible. When he was about to open it however, the door swung open and would have definitely hit him if he hadn't quickly jumped out of the way.

The man who opened the door looked fairly young, probably in his middle to late 20's. He had black colored hair, and a very spiky hairstyle. He was wearing an opened blue vest, with no shirt. His pants were simply baggy light blue jeans with the very bottom parts of the legs sewn a little tighter than normal. This probably meant that whatever he worked on caused him to move frequently, and he didn't want to be hindered. The man was grinning in a way not unlike himself, and seemed to be glad that he was awake.

"Hey, kid." Naruto bristled at this. He didn't want to be treated like a child. "I'm glad you're finally awake. You've been out for a couple of hours. I found you down by the beach, barely conscious, so I brought you here. My names' Maxie. What's yours?" Naruto decided that he liked this 'Maxie.' He was happy, polite, and got straight to the point. The man didn't beat around the bush. After about a second of silence, Naruto realized that the man wanted an answer.

"My name is Uzu-"_ wait, they say their given names first._ "I mean, I am Naruto Uzumaki. Where is 'here' exactly?"

"What, you don't remember? I told you where you were when I found you... then again, you were only half-conscious. You're in Kilika, home of the Kilika Beasts Blitzball team!" Maxie said with a huge fox-grin, which looked more intimidating than nice on the tall man's face.

_Kilika? What the hell is Kilika? And Blitzball? Argh! I wish Rikku taught me more than simply history and Al Bhed! She didn't even tell me about that 'Sin' thing!_ _Well, there was most likely a reason. No use getting upset. Crap, he's staring at me. He must be expecting another response. I can't have him getting suspicious of me. Alright Naruto, smile and nod. That's right, smile and nod. It got us through awkward situations before._

Naruto did as his brain told him and smiled to the man while nodding continually. This seemed to be the correct response as Maxie only grinned wider (if that were possible) and then stepped closer to the shinobi.

"Hey, I just noticed. What happened to your wound? It looked serious. I was going to take you to the temple for healing... but it seems you didn't need it. You can use white magic?" Maxie asked curiously. He seemed sincerely interested in the boy's abilities.

_Damn, one more thing I have no clue about. C'mon Naruto think. What is white magic? Okay, analyzing time. He asked about white magic like an every day thing, so it must be well known. However, he seems very curious. That probably means that while it is well known, it is not a common skill._ _Alright then, I have the basics. Now what exactly does the skill do? The only other skill I have heard about in this world is _**thunder** _so it most likely is related to that. He's staring again, better hurry. Rikku once said that _**thunder** _is something called black magic, so white magic IS related to it! Wow, im getting good at this. Now, I know that black magic hurts things, and black is the opposite of white so that must mean that white magic heals! And it also fits with what he was asking about my wound! He thinks I healed myself! Well, I didn't so im going to have to make an excuse. Lying about knowing such a skill could get me in a lot of trouble. What if he asks me to save a dying person?_

"Well, no, I don't. I just naturally heal fast. And have you seen my sword?" Naruto answered trying to change the subject.._ Safe. Im going to have to talk to Kyuubi about this._

"Oh, yeah I just laid your sword down in the next room. It's too big for this tiny space. Your necklace is there too, by the way. Looks costly. And you seem to be answering very... slowly. Are you alright? And how did you manage to get in the ocean in the first place?" Maxie asked once again.

_Damn it, too many questions! And my necklace? I didn't even notice it was gone. It brings back bad memories. I'll have to find something to do with it. As for the ocean part... im just going to have to tell the truth. I want to avoid a fight. _"Well, I was on a ship out at sea when Sin-"

"You were attacked by Sin!" Maxie yelled, his smile now gone.

"Uhh... Sin? What is this 'Sin'?" Naruto said with a nervous smile, hoping the man would just forget the whole thing.

"Oh no... you're being affected by Sin's toxins aren't you? Poor kid... you're lucky you even remember your own name." Maxie said sorrowfully as he frowned.

_Hey, he gave me an excuse! Confirm it Naruto! Go for it! _"Um...yeah, that. Toxins... Sin... ship... I can't remember anything else." The ninja said while grabbing his head as if in pain. In his head he congratulated himself. He thought that he was pulling off the 'child in pain' act quite well.

Maxie's frown deepened while he gestured for Naruto to put on the black shirt in the dresser to his left. Naruto did so, and followed the man out of the room. The blonde began to examine this room as well, but didn't get the chance. Maxie told him to grab his weapon and necklace, and then left the room through another door. Once more gesturing Naruto to follow. The boy did as he was told, grabbing the sword and leather holding it, throwing both over his left shoulder. This was so the sword went diagonally across his back, with the hilt to the right of his head and the tip near the floor on his left side. He also replaced his necklace on his person, once more reminding himself to do something with it later.

While Naruto continued after Maxie, he silently mourned his hitai-ate. He had only now realize it was gone, and remembered removing it while 'suiting up' for his dive. The grieving lasted for a few seconds at most, however, when it reminded him of Konoha. The bad memories began to resurface, but he quickly pushed them away. The forehead protector wasn't a big deal anyway, it was supposed to show his alliance to his village. However, he no longer had a village. This thought was both discomforting and uplifting, which was strange in and of itself.

He found Maxie outside, talking with a woman who was putting clothes up on a line to dry. He did not see his own garments on the line, so he supposed they were destroyed beyond repair. The woman was very beautiful, and seemed to glow while talking to Maxie. Although she seemed to get sadder as Maxie continued to talk. No doubt the man had told her about his own apparent amnesia, and he felt slightly guilty for lying to such kind people. He correctly guessed that Sin's toxins caused memory loss. To continue, the woman had blue eyes like his own, with her hair a pleasant chocolate brown. However the woman seemed a little... fat, however he quickly passed this off. The ninja also used his 'amazing' observational skills to notice that all of the houses were ON the water! Everything was either floating, or was held up by tiny pillars where the water was shallow enough. It was a whole town on top of the sea... like some kind of fairy tale. Of course, there was an island that the whole town was connected to for food and fresh water. The shinobi could not for the life of him figure out why they didn't just build their village on dry land. Although he had to admit, their idea was much more interesting.

The man eventually came back over to him, along with the woman. They both had become even more saddened at the sight of him looking at everything like it was the first time he had seen it. Of course, it was the first time he had seen it, but they didn't need to know that. Maxie introduced the woman as Mizu, his wife. The two looked very happy together, although at the moment they seemed to hold more pity for him than anything. Nevertheless, he was happy for them. He wondered if he would ever be able to just settle down and have a family. It was something he had always wanted, even more than being Hokage. Before he could even consider such a thing though, he had to destroy Sin. That cursed being, that has most likely brought even more death and destruction than even the Kyuubi. After all, while the kitsune has been safely locked away in his stomach, this creature had been loose. Naruto shuddered at the thought of what has happened in Spira, and also at the thought of what could have happened to his world, had Kyuubi never been locked away.

Maxie explained that it would be a good idea for him to venture up to the temple, to seek healing. Although his wound was clearly gone, (something he still had to talk to Kyuubi about) there was a chance that if he was affected by only some of the toxins, the white mages at the temple could restore his memory. This obviously seemed like a waste of time to Naruto, because his memory was not gone. However he needed information, and this temple seemed like the place to get it. Maxie said that the temple was at the very top of the island, so although it would take some time to get there, you could not miss it.

However, Naruto could not help asking. "Why are you telling me this? Wouldn't it be better to simply escort me, or something?" The ninja couldn't help saying this not because he needed help, but because Maxie seemed like the kind of person who would do anything to help. It seemed strange to him that the man would simply let him wander off on his own.

"I would Naruto but, my wife is pregnant, you see. And I can't leave her. I would sincerely like to help you but I can't take the risk of something happening. You understand, don't you?" Maxie asked hopefully.

When Naruto heard that, he felt ashamed of almost taking the man away from his wife. Although she looked to still be a few months from delivery, he could understand the man's need to be near her right now. After the two gave Naruto a backpack with everything he would need (all his items were gone) he said his goodbyes to the couple. The shinobi honestly hoped he could end up just like them one day. They were married, happy, and expected their first child. To them, life was simple and perfect. Once Sin was crushed, and gone from this world, he vowed he would come back to visit them.

* * *

Whew. Complete. Bet you're all wondering where the hell I was huh? Well, there's the next chapter. Hope you all liked it. If you didn't, well, its not my problem. (Looks around nervously) And I decided to put in more funny stuff. Tell me if you want more of these so I'll know if im doing this for the greater good, or just for my own amusement, lol.

-I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.

-everyone else may love you, but I still think you're a moron.

-This isn't a classroom, it's hell with fluorescent lighting.

-You know you're addicted to coffee when:

1)you're nervous twitches show up on the richter scale.

2)you have to watch movies in fast-forward.

3)you have a picture of your coffee mug on your coffee mug.

Hope you liked those. Very few (if any) of these are mine. They belong to my friends, or wherever they came across them. (Most likely the internet) So don't sue me because of simple jokes. It's not like you'll get anything anyway. ROFL. Anyway, ja ne.


	19. Goukatoushin gets attention!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the final fantasy games. If I did, I would be filthy stinkin' rich! But I don't so it doesn't matter either way.

And kudos to you if you managed to stick with me for this long. You get a cookie.

Naruto eventually reached the foliage of the forest after about 10 minutes. He initially tried to reach dry land by following the wooden paths designed like roads. However he quickly became confused, and decided to simply water walk to it when no one was looking. He couldn't afford becoming a 'suspicious person' in the townspeople's eyes. After all, he had no idea how long he was going to be here.

He entered the thick forest, through a path he hoped led to the temple. The ninja placed his hand on the hilt to his sword, for safety precautions as well as intimidation purposes. Maxie had said that there were fiends in the forest, but most were weak enough to be held back by an old lady with a stick. He hoped that through shear intimidation, he could reach the temple without a fuss.

It seemed that one of the fiends was quite cocky, for it jumped from the trees at him. Naruto quickly cut it down to size, and watched it fall to the ground. It's blood was all over his sword, and he scrunched his nose in disgust. After killing the small lizard-like creature (That was all he could compare it to) he heard more rustling coming from the general area the fiend jumped from. Likely the dead creature's companions, fleeing from the scene after seeing one of their own so easily slaughtered. Naruto scowled, _cowards._

After cleaning the blood off his sword, he continued following the path that hopefully lead to the temple. Naruto began to think about Rikku, but quickly crushed the thoughts. He couldn't afford to get attached, and she could be dead for all he knew. His heart sunk at this revelation, so he forced himself to think about more immediate concerns. He pondered what to do with his blade while he walked, confident that he had scared most of the fiends off. Goukatoushin was getting blunt, unbearably so. Instead of a clean slice through the lizard, the gash was jagged. This wasn't a problem for the small fiends, but it could cause trouble when he came across the larger ones. When it came to the small creatures, no matter how dull the blade became, its shear size will enable it to cut through. If he fought something huge, his blade could very well become stuck halfway through whatever he was cutting. This was very bad, because although it would cause excruciating pain, the wound would not be lethal. His sword would actually help the fiend, by stopping the bleeding. He would need to find a sword smith, and one that was able to deal with such a large weapon. Naruto cursed, knowing that wouldn't be common in any world. He would have to look for one when he came to a large city. No matter how amazing Kilika was, it was unlikely to have a blacksmith, let alone one that he could trust to fix up his sword without permanently damaging it. Naruto sighed, realizing that he was going to have to leave Kilika. The fox-boy was disappointed, he hoped it was possible for him to stay for a few days. But, the mission came first. He had to get stronger, and no matter how powerful he became, he wouldn't be able to even scratch Sin with a blunt blade. He needed the best sword available, and hoped he could simply 'upgrade' (A new word he heard Rikku use often) his sword to become better than, or at least able to match the most efficient one. So, using the information he had just realized, he made a plan. (AN: Naruto, did your IQ just rise a few points? Lol.)

First things first, he had to reach the temple. He noticed that he was around 3 quarters of the way to the highest section of land. At that point, there would be a steep incline where he would have to climb. Hopefully there would be stairs, and that was a definite possibility. It sounded like many people went to the temple, so they would have naturally built some stairs to it right?

Second, he had to find information in the temple. He needed to know all about Sin, and he also needed to know the closest city. He doubted that people in a temple would know anything about blacksmiths, so it was useless to ask about that. He needed to know what the city was called, where it was generally located, and how to get there. Naruto knew he would have to take a boat, but knowing where the boat was supposed to go would be nice.

Third, he had to talk to Kyuubi. He would most likely be spending the night at the temple, so that wouldn't be a problem. The kitsune had healed his wounds, and he had to know if he was in any danger or not. He would have asked the Kyuubi now, but he was asleep apparently. _Bastard fox... _Naruto cursed under his breath. The curse quickly became a smile however when he saw that, indeed, the temple had stairs. The blonde made a small whoop of joy as he began to climb his way to the temple. The fox-boy realized he was once again becoming distracted, and forced himself to get back to his plan.

The next morning, he would hopefully have all the information he would need. He would then head back to Kilika, find Maxie and Mizu so he could say goodbye and thank you, and then hop onto the next ship for... wherever it is he would have to go.

Naruto smiled at his plan, proud that he had just figured out what to do over the next few days. After this uplifting thought left his head, he realized he was already at the temple. There were priests, and also other random people running around with books, scrolls, and the occasional staff.

The building was smaller than he expected, but still amazing. There were many large glass orbs adorning the outside walls, with fire burning inside them. He pondered for a second as to what kept them burning, but quickly dismissed it as simply more magic. There seemed to be a lot of it in this world after all.

After questioning various random people (they didn't give him their names, and he didn't particularly feel like asking) he was shocked to discover that none of them knew anything. Either that, or they just wouldn't tell him anything. They looked like such nice people. When he asked about Sin, however, they turned from him in disgust, as if they thought he was playing some kind of sick joke. Eventually, he found one person who told him the problem, albeit very bluntly.

"Are you insane? Or just plain stupid? Everyone knows what Sin is and what it does! It's a mindless monster! It destroys! You must have a sick sense of humor to pretend you don't know something like that!" At the end of the young man's mini-rant, he turned quickly away from Naruto and walked off as if the ninja were a disease. Naruto finally understood why everyone was acting this way. They thought he was playing them for fools. Maybe if he just explained himself...

"Umm...well you see, I was attacked by Sin-" Everyone within earshot, including the man who had just dismissed him, turned towards the blonde with shocked expressions on their faces. This was extremely creepy in and of itself, and the fox-boy was suddenly feeling something akin to stage fright. At the moment, the poor boy just simply wanted to find a hole that he could crawl into and die. He would never actually do that mind you, but it was exactly how he was feeling.

_I don't really want to be the center of attention anymore._

Ok, really really REALLY short chapter, but hopefully the short update time makes up for it. Wonder if you liked it? Anyway, I couldn't think of any jokes, so I'm just putting in some weird facts for something to do. (Starting to run out, will probably have to actively search for them soon, lol)

-Men can read smaller print than women. Women can hear better.

-Approximate cost of raising a medium-sized dog to the age of eleven is $6400

-Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

-111,111,111 x 111,111,111 equals 123,456,789,987,654,321

Well, I managed to kill a few extra seconds with that. Don't sue me because I don't know where the jokes are from. My friends could have come up with them for all I know. (Although I highly doubt that) While reviewing, tell me if you think I should keep putting these little tidbits here, or are they just wasting everyone's time? Anyway, ja ne.


	20. Damn Peer Pressure!

Disclaimer: I am getting really sick of saying this. And I bet your getting really sick of hearing this. And im getting really sick with cold. Achoo! nah, just kidding. I don't feel particularly well, but its been worse. xD

Everyone who reads this story and wanted me to update, thank Infinite Freedom. He's the one who got me off of my lazy ass to write this chapter oh, and sorry for the looong update time. And if this chapter seems short, its probably because I like to write my chapters in one sitting and something interrupted me. XD (sleep most likely)

Naruto felt indescribably small at the moment. Well, smaller then he normally is. He was standing in the middle of a temple, and everyone within earshot was staring right at him. It was incredibly creepy, as you can well imagine. And Naruto could have sworn a couple of people who hadn't even heard what he said had run up and started staring at him so that they wouldn't feel left out. Damn peer pressure.

"You were attacked by Sin?" some random person asked him. Naruto simply nodded mutely, still shocked at how there seemed to be many more people in the temple now then there were before...

"Come with me. We haven't had one of you come here in a while..." A person who looked like a priest asked this, and Naruto simply nodded again while the priest gave him a pitying look. The blonde ninja immediately snapped to attention when he saw that look. He hated it almost as much as those cold, hateful eyes back home. Naruto frowned after he thought that. No, that hellhole isn't his home. He doesn't have a home anymore.

The fox-boy followed the priest into the huge temple, where he saw many different priests and monks. Strangely, they all looked almost the same, but he didn't stay on this train of thought for more than a few seconds. There were many gigantic statues in the temple, and Naruto admitted that even though he didn't have a clue who they depicted, they were beautifully crafted. The work of a master, Naruto decided with a nod as he continued to follow the man.

He was eventually led into a small room, which seemed to be filled with only the bare essentials. Unless you counted what looked to be a small treasure chest, but that was most likely filled with potions and other medicines. Naruto smirked. He expected no less from these people. At least they weren't stupid. The ninja wandered over to sit on the bed, and while it looked uncomfortable, it was actually rather soft. Silky even. He hoped that if he was to stay here that this bed would be the place.

"Stay here for the moment. And please don't touch anything. Most people attacked by Sin should be kept away from sharp objects..." The priest stopped when he took notice of the large sword on the blonde's back. How he managed to miss it until now was lost on Naruto, but he decided not to question such things. The priest glanced nervously at Naruto as he exited the room, and the blonde guessed it had something to do with the 'should be kept away from sharp objects' comment.

Naruto took this time to more closely examine the room he was in while he kicked his legs back and forth off the side of the bed. The walls were covered with what looked like large paintings at first, but afterwards was noticed to be pictures painted directly on the walls. Of course, this amused Naruto for all of two seconds before his attention was diverted elsewhere. There was a big glowing _thing_ in the middle of the room, but its only purpose seemed to be to light the area. Why did these people have to seem so fancy? A simple light bulb would have served the same purpose as this big cylinder that vaguely reminded Naruto of something called a 'lava lamp' he once saw a peddler selling.

Before Naruto could be pleasantly distracted by anything else, the door opened and an important looking priest walked into the room. He seemed just like the others though, except his clothes looked fancier, more expensive. He even saw jewels encrusted into the fabric in a few places.

"So, you are the one attacked by Sin. We have gotten many of your kind here, but not for some time now. Tell me, where do you hail from? It can't be far, as it is unlikely a toxin-infected person could reach here." The priest asked this while taking a chair away from a wall and sitting on it, then leaning forward slightly and putting his hands in front of his face, as if in prayer.

"I do not know where I come from. I only remember washing up on Kilika beach." He knew it was an unlikely story, as amnesia wasn't the most common disease, and what he forgot and what he remembered was too convenient.

"I understand. Another one thrown off of a boat. I'll tell the monks to prepare you some food and you may rest here for the night." The priest said this with a sigh while standing up and walking toward the door. Naruto looked at him in shock, he couldn't believe his good fortune! The after thinking for a second he frowned. It was too easy. Why hadn't he been questioned at all? The ninja groaned mentally. He would have to keep a watch all night now in case of attack. The damn guy could have at least asked him some questions so he could have a good night's sleep...

"I will see you off tomorrow. Im afraid that we are quite busy at the moment, and can't afford to take care of another victim who appears to be doing fine besides some memory loss. You can stay the night, but you will have to leave tomorrow. Oh, would it be too much trouble for you to simply stay in this room? Although you seem to have no problems, many people hit with Sin's toxins go partially insane. For this reason, many people get edgy around infected people. Do you understand?" The man asked all of this while walking towards the door and shutting it, not even waiting for Naruto's answer. The blonde didn't blame him though, he believed that he didn't completely understand, so being ignored a little wasn't a big deal.

Naruto fell back on the bed, then groaned in discomfort when he forgot to take his sword off first. He discarded it on the floor, then immediately began to drift to sleep. He still hadn't completely recovered from his wound, although it was completely healed. His strength just hadn't returned to his body yet. He told himself repeatedly that he was just going to rest his eyes for a few minutes, but he didn't really believe those words himself. Within seconds, Naruto was in peaceful slumber.

_**Time Skip**_

Naruto awoke sometime around one o' clock PM the next day, feeling completely rested but kind of bad that he had wasted almost a whole day. He then looked to the small coffee table a few feet from him and saw a plate of what he assumed was his dinner from the previous day. He smiled when he saw simply a plate of two legs of chicken and two apples, along with a small glass of what seemed to be orange juice from where he was looking. The ninja lazily climbed out of bed and went over to the plate. At least these people were nice enough to feed him, Naruto thought with a smile. Who cares if he had to eat it cold, he had to do much worse when he was younger. And the chicken was the only thing cooked normally anyway. Naruto greedily tore through the chicken first, as he couldn't remember the last time he had eaten. He could only remember that he had passed out quite often lately, though it was no fault of his own. Naruto then began slowly biting into the apples, mentally cursing himself while doing so. He had been so shocked at being allowed to stay here without a fuss, that he hadn't asked any of his questions. Naruto sighed and moved to grab the second apple, then began eating that one as well. Maybe if he was lucky he could ask before he left? If not he could always ask someone in the village. He hadn't gotten any information on Sin either though. Naruto sighed again, becoming more depressed. He hadn't accomplished any part of his mission except finding lodging. He really was a terrible shinobi...

Naruto wasn't able to continue being angsty at the moment, for when he thought that he heard a scream. It was blood-curdling, the kind of scream that made your hair stand on end and your knees buckle. Naruto immediately shook his head to clear it. What had caused that?...

The ninja gulped down his orange juice (He couldn't go much longer without water) and grabbed his sword. He then strapped it to his back and ran outside.

Out of the temple wasn't much better. Everyone was running around, dazed and disoriented. Nobody knew what was going on. Naruto discerned that this probably meant the scream came from Kilika, but he couldn't see above the people, let alone the trees. The blonde ninja moved away from the crowd, and then jumped up onto the temple and climbed it to the top. When he looked in the direction of Kilika, his blood ran cold, he felt his hair stand on end and his knees almost buckled.

Heading for Kilika was a tidal wave, and following in its wake was Sin itself.

Yeeeeeeah...sorry about this I know that when I don't update for a long time I should make a long chapter, but I felt this was a nice ending spot. To make it up to you, Tidbits! Rofl. Well, jokes really. These aren't tidbits. XD

-Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

-I intend to live forever. So far, so good.

-When everything is comin' your way, your driving in the wrong lane.

-What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

-I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.

I'll try to make the next update sooner, alright? And sorry about not getting as far as you all probably thought XD well, ja ne.


	21. NO! This can't happen!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or anything besides this plot really. There, happy now?

Thank you to everyone for reviewing. I won't name you all out (that would be time consuming.) So just give yourselves a pat on the back or something. You deserve it for sticking with me for this long. XD Congrats.

"No...this can't be happening again!" Naruto murmured to himself while shaking his head back and forth slowly, as if trying to deny what he could see with his own two eyes. A giant tidal wave, one that could easily crush Kilika was coming, and Sin wasn't far behind. If nothing was done, Kilika was likely to be wiped off the map permanently.

"I can't believe...I've caused this again..." Naruto again murmured to himself again, while climbing down from the temple's roof in a daze. It seemed he was causing more harm then good in this world. First all the trouble with the Al Bhed, such as him attracting Sin to the boat. He also caused Rikku a good deal of grief, firstly with her being eaten by the worm because she had to tag along with him. Then she and Gippal broke up. He didn't know what this had to do with him, but he knew he was a part of it. Other wise Gippal wouldn't have been as mad at him as he was.

And now this. Because he couldn't simply take care of himself, Kyuubi was forced to use the demon chakra to heal him. In evidently drawing Sin straight towards Kilika. He would have caused the death of so many people...

Naruto shook his head quickly to shake off the daze, then looked ahead resolutely with his face set. He would not have to mourn if he could stop It from happening. Naruto raced down the steps of the temple while pumping chakra into his legs to increase his speed. He had to get there quickly, or else anything he tried to do would be useless. Naruto knocked down a few monks who were also running towards Kilika, but at the moment he didn't care. There was too much at stake.

"**What are you going to do when you make it there?" **He heard Kyuubi's booming through his head, completely serious.

_Kyuubi? You're awake? _Naruto asked the obvious question in his head, now leaving the steps and entering the forest. He could hear screams and shouts for help coming from the small town, obviously noticing the huge wave about to crush them.

"**Yes kit, I am. No matter how tired I could be, I could never sleep with this _thing _so close by." **Kyuubi's voice bellowed, echoing in his mind.

_Its good to know you're awake for this. And as for your question, I don't know what im going to do. _Naruto told him as he began to pick up the pace, knowing he was quickly running out of time.

"**Why are you running towards the danger then? You know you can't defeat it in your current state." **Kyuubi said, not trying to belittle or disregard his skills. Merely stating the truth.

_I know Kyuubi, but I have to try. Im going to cut the link now, I need to concentrate on where im going. _Naruto quickly cut his mental link with Kyuubi, knowing what he just said was a lie. He could easily concentrate on running and chakra control while talking to the fox. He just didn't want to talk to the Kyuubi, because the fox would tell him how hopeless this was. And Naruto would believe him. Therefore he didn't want to hear it, and lose the small amount of hope he had.

Naruto continued running through the foliage of the forest, hearing the screams grow louder. Although this was extremely frightening to him, it was also slightly comforting. Because the screams were growing louder, it meant he was closer to Kilika, and had a chance at making it there before the disaster.

Naruo charged forward with all his strength, desperately hoping to make it there in time. He pushes through some overgrowth without stopping, not caring about all the tiny cuts and scrapes he was getting. They weren't important. When he finished running through the thick plants and was about to make a mad dash for Kilika however, the shinobi was quickly snared by a long tentacle. The green thing wrapped itself around his mid-section, before starting to try and squeeze the life out of him. Naruto began gasping for breath, now having trouble breathing and moving as well. He was eventually able to turn his head to see the creature that was currently trying to kill him.

Naruto thought it looked oddly like a pitcher plant, a strange thing he could sometimes find in the forests surrounding Konoha. It was large and round, with leaves sprouting out in various places, especially around the base. The tentacle that was still squeezing him was attached to the side of the creature, and he could see another on the other side, just like a pair of arms. It also had two stubby feet, which looked much too small for the body they carried. The monster also had a huge gaping maw, also reminding him vaguely of the pitcher plant. He guessed the fiend swallowed its food whole, then slowly digested it. Naruto grimaced, although not entirely in disgust. The fiend's hold on him was extremely tight, and was beginning to constrict his chest far too much for his liking. Any more and there was a good chance a rib or two would snap, which would cause him to once again use the demon chakra.

Naruto hissed in pain as the flat side of the tentacle began to wrap more tightly around him, if that were possible. Before he could be killed by this thing, Naruto flared his chakra, burning many of his tenketsus, but also giving the plant severe chakra burns. It would probably never use that tentacle correctly ever again, which was confirmed by the creature's arm suddenly dropping to the ground lifeless while still attached to the body. The shinobi was actually glad it was a plant, or else burning it wouldn't be nearly as effective. The ninja smirked, but then heard more screams coming from Kilika. The tidal wave was probably within seconds of hitting the little city, and the boy cursed himself for forgetting, even for a second. Then fox-boy quickly drew his sword from his back, preparing to end this quickly. He pumped chakra into his arms, mindful of using any more demon chakra, and swung his sword horizontally towards the beast.

The sword sliced into the side of the monster, causing it to screech in pain. The shinobi continued however, making the cut deeper and slightly jagged. Then the worst happened. The cut suddenly began to go erratic and jagged, and the sword stopped inside the monster, only about halfway though its slice.

_No, not now! Anytime but now! _Naruto ranted in his head, now nervous. He began to pull on the sword hard, but it was stuck fast in the tough hide of the fiend. The creature continued to screech, and it was beginning to hurt his ears. Naruto eventually decide to abandon the blade, running from the monster towards Kilika, where he could see that the tidal wave was now mere seconds from impact. However he kept running, clinging onto the hope that he could do something, anything, to help. The ninja made a fatal mistake however, turning his back on his opponent. The fiend reached out with his good tentacle, and once again began squeezing the shinobi, much harder than before. The creature was getting desperate to kill him. Naruto gasped for air and yelled slightly from pain, but then came to his senses. He once again flared his chakra, effectively burning the rest of his tenketsus and immobilizing the creature's other tentacle. The creature once again screeched in pain, then quickly dropped the boy and began to run away, but not before Naruto grabbed his sword and pulled it from the fiend in one fell swoop. The creature continued running however, deciding that it simply wasn't worth the trouble.

Naruto was now lying on the forest ground, beaten and battered. He wasn't damaged much on the outside. However, inside, was another story. Everything would heal or be fixed fairly quickly, but not quickly enough. He had lost his second wind from all the squeezing, and was trying to get it back which would take several seconds. His burned tenketsus wouldn't reopen until at least tomorrow, leaving him vulnerable. Naruto pressed on despite this however, leaving his sword on the ground and beginning to drag himself towards Kilika again. Foot by foot, he was making it. Although his conscious mind was telling him there was nothing he could do at this point, his subconscious refused to believe it. Until he heard the screams however.

It was horrible to his ears. They were screams of pain, of death. Of families being hurt, torn apart and killed. Many of the people were killed by the tidal wave. Others which were thrown into the water were killed by sinspawn or crushed under Sin itself. Naruto stopped dragging himself and placed his head onto the ground. Suddenly not wanting to reach Kilika. He couldn't bear to watch the destruction of such a kind place.

Sin swam slowly through the waters, killing whatever it came across. It didn't particularly care about them. Or anything for that matter. If anything lived, it would be considered lucky and then passed off by the humongous creature. It didn't search out and kill things. It was simply made for destruction. It would destroy everything, and anything fool enough to be caught in the crossfire would be killed. That was all that mattered to it. Or, that was all that did matter to it. At the moment, it could feel something nearby. Something important. Sin didn't know what it was, but it felt like it had to find it. After a few seconds however, Sin no longer felt like this. It could no longer detect the presence of that special thing. Deciding that simple waiting was in order, the gigantic fiend turned from the small demolished town that had no meaning to it, and began to sink into the sea to wait for the presence to show itself again.

After a about a minute of staying on the ground and hearing nothing more, the blonde ninja slowly raised himself from the ground on unsteady legs. He then walked out into the nearby clearing he was heading for before. After taking one look at the destruction, the ninja broke down onto the ground and began to cry.

"Its gone...its all gone..."

wow, now this is a depressing chapter. Short too, but the short update time makes up for it right? Anyway, before anyone asks, Sin could no longer detect Naruto at the time, because he had ended up burning his tenketsus, cutting off the small amount of demon chakra he was still leaking from the healing process. This would have happened naturally over the course of about another hour, but the tenketsu thing stops it completely. Anyway, although it feels out of place in this chapter, I'll put more jokes here xD well, ja ne.

-wear short sleeves! Support your right to bare arms!

-all those who believe in psychokinesis raise my hand.

-ok, so what's the speed of dark?

-It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it.

Sarcastic Remarks

-If I want to hear the pitter patter of little feet I'll put shoes on my cat.

-I pretend to work. They pretend to pay me.

-ohhh, let me turn on the part of my brain that gives a damn.

-Whatever look you were going for, you missed.

-Stress is when you wake up screaming and realize you haven't fallen asleep yet.

Well, that's enough of that. XD See you all next chapter I guess. Oh, and do you people still want me to put these little jokes up? XD just wondering. Ja ne.


	22. I see dead people

Disclaimer: own I don't Naruto. You may have to put those in the right order xD And if you can, that means you knew what I was going to say in the first place. Which means I really shouldn't have to write these anymore.

One thing to address anyone remember way back when I was saying that Naruto spoke English instead of Japanese? First of all, this isn't relevant. Although Naruto originated in Japan, Naruto could be speaking English or whatever, depending on the manga or anime you are reading/watching. Second, yes I have read a good amount of the manga. But I always found it strange how authors would say their characters were speaking Japanese, but everything was being wrote in English. Isn't that kind of weird? Hmm... Anyway, enough of that xD ON WITH THE STORY!

WARNING: Oh god, here comes the angst. Sorry people!

"Its gone... its all gone" Naruto said to himself as he fell to his hands and knees and started to cry.

The blonde ninja wasn't entirely correct. Some of Kilika had survived, but it was so little that it was quite easy to say there was nothing left. About three quarters of the once beautiful little city had been demolished by the initial tidal wave, and then what was left was damaged further by the thrashing around Sin was doing before it left.

"Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!" Naruto cried to the air repeatedly, punching the ground over and over again. He eventually stopped hitting the defenseless soil, opting instead to lower his head onto it so he wouldn't have to see the utter devastation Sin had caused.

"You did it again Naruto... how many more people are going to die because of you?" Naruto said to himself quietly, hoping he wasn't going crazy for talking to himself. Of course, he talks to Kyuubi on a regular basis, but he doesn't count.

The distraught young boy got to his feet about a minute later, albeit very slowly. It felt as if his legs were going to give out, and every few seconds he would feel a brief spike of pain like fire shooting up and down his legs. He ignored it however, and continued walking towards his sword laying a few feet away.

Finally reaching the sword, which was laying in a small pile of leaves where he dropped it, Naruto picked it up and tried to lift it over his shoulder. Finding it much too heavy for his weakened state. He solved this by simply dragging the hulking mass of metal behind him, while starting to walk slowly towards the destroyed Kilika in a daze.

"Its all my fault... I killed them all..." Naruto mumbled to himself while walking down a gentle slope towards the shore. Even after such a disaster, the forest looked beautiful and ethereal, however the fox-boy couldn't find the heart to care. All this death and carnage, was created by him. Sin may have been the being that initiated it, but he was the one that led it here.

Naruto continued onto the shore, and looked up, still in a daze, to find several human bodies floating in the water. A few of them were missing limbs, and one or two were missing almost half their body. Naruto flinched when he saw them, and he felt his heart clench. They all had wide, unbelieving eyes, and their mouths were open in silent screams of terror. Naruto cried several more tears, and lowered his head in shame. He then knelt and said a short prayer, before standing and continuing towards the stable area of Kilika, vowing to come back and give them a proper burial. He owed those people at least that much for all he had done. He would have done it now, but he might still be able to help the survivors in some way. That is, if there were any.

Naruto stepped onto the only walkway still intact and continued deeper into the village. He saw a few people running around, shouting the names of loved ones and throwing debris around, hoping to uncover buried survivors. He wanted to go help, but at the moment he wanted to check on Maxie and Mizu. He knew it was selfish, but he didn't know any of these other people. He would look for those two first, then he would help the others.

Naruto stepped into the general area of Maxie's house, or at least where he remembered it was. He jumped onto a floating piece of walkway and surveyed the damage. It appeared that this place was in even worse shape then everything else, except the part of Kilika that was currently underwater. He could see several bodies floating here and there, beginning to turn the water red with blood. Whenever he saw a body he would check the face, then quickly look away when the cold, dead eyes seemed to stare at him.

Naruto used a few more smaller leaps, due to his tenketsus still being closed, to land in front of what he knew was Maxie and Mizu's house. The fox-boy could still see the remains of the clothes-line in front of the building. The structure hadn't fared well either however. The roof was completely gone, and he could spot the door a few feet away, ripped off the hinges. The windows were in no better shape, although one somehow managed to survive the destruction.

The ninja stepped slowly up to the building, afraid of what he may find inside. He lifted the sword that was still dragging behind him and sliced a plank of wood that had fallen into the door-less entrance. The blonde felt slightly relieved that his strength was beginning to return, and he walked into the beaten-down house.

The inside was terrible, and Naruto had to look away slightly, remembering how homey and nice the house looked only a day ago. The entire place was flooded, and he could see the odd little statue that he saw when he woke up drifting along the water with the other pieces of wreckage. Naruto continued looking around the little building and noticed, partly underwater, two bodies with most of the roof collapsed on top of them. The ninja cursed, and ran to the two while repeating a mantra of 'please be okay, please be okay...' in his head. He dropped Goukatoushin onto the water-covered floor and immediately began digging through the wood, tearing and throwing it all over. He eventually got it all off of the two, and was relieved, and even smiled when he found that they were both still 'whole'. However the smile quickly faded from his face

when he realized an important fact; neither of the two were breathing.

"Shit!" Naruto cursed aloud as he lifted Maxie off of his wife, as it seemed the man had jumped over Mizu to protect her from the debris. He then put his head to the man's chest and listened for a moment before sighing. There was no heartbeat. The man was dead.

Naruto brought himself over to the woman and like with Maxie, checked her for a heartbeat. He then gave a start when he realized that there was one. It was faint of course, but there was definitely one there. She still was not breathing however, so Naruto began to use mouth to mouth on Mizu; something he was taught quite early in the ninja academy. He paused however before pressing on her chest to try and make her expel the water. She was pregnant, and doing that would likely kill the baby before it was even born. Naruto began to panic. How in the world could he save them both? He continued to breath air into her however, hoping she could bring the water back up on her own, but nothing was working. He checked her heartbeat again; it was getting fainter. He was running out of time.

Naruto hurriedly thought back to the small amount of medical training he had been given. He had to stimulate the lungs somehow to make them bring the water up on their own. Pressing on a person's chest was the normal way, but he couldn't do that. Any stimulus though, however faint, would raise her chances for survival.

Naruto thought all this within the span of a second, so while still getting air into her lungs he placed his hands on her chest and started sending small chakra pulses through her. Similar to what Kyuubi does on occasion but much weaker. He didn't want to hurt her after all. After a few seconds of this he began to panic again, but smiled when Mizu lurched slightly and began coughing up the water in her lungs.

"Thank god..." Naruto said quietly while placing his hand on Mizu's back and sitting her up so she wouldn't swallow the water again by accident. After a few moments of this the woman fainted; likely from the strain, but was breathing steadily. Naruto smiled and prayed to every God he knew for keeping Mizu alive and most likely her baby as well. The ninja frowned mournfully however and looked over at Maxie. How would the woman react with her husband gone from this world? Naruto shook his head. He knew she wouldn't act well, he just hoped she wouldn't let it take over her life like he was guessing it would.

Naruto stared at Maxie's pale face, and wondered if he would end up like that someday as well. The man's precious person _(people_, Naruto reminded himself while looking at Mizu's stomach) was in danger, and he gave his life to save her. The blonde knew that in such a situation, he would have done the same. He likely wouldn't have died as Maxie had, but he still would give his life to save any of his precious people.

Naruto glanced once more at Mizu before picking the woman up bridal style and strapping his sword to his back again, and began walking out of the destroyed house and towards the area of the beach he saw with survivors. On the way he had a minute or two to contemplate.

Naruto thought of how the baby's life would be like now. He (_or she_ Naruto thought) would likely grow up with a distraught mother and without a father entirely because of him. Naruto had been helped by these people, and what did he give in return? He had destroyed their happy little family simply by coming to Kilika. Naruto frowned at this and began to think of Maxie once more.

Maxie was like him, and Naruto didn't deny the fact that someday what happened to the man would happen to Naruto as well. There was one difference between him and Maxie however, the blonde thought while bowing his head in shame once again.

While Maxie saved people, he killed them.

It is done!!! XD whew, finally. Sorry 'bout the late update. Personal reasons, nothing big though Hope you all don't kill me for making you wait, and tell me if I messed up somewhere in the chapter or in the explanation of how Naruto saved Mizu alright? Im not trained in anything medical whatsoever so I just kinda went with what I knew xD Ja ne, cya later! OH! Im forgetting something aren't I? Hmm... Jokes! XD Kinda messes up the whole angst thing though

Real Friends (seriously, my friends must be getting these off a website somewhere. Someone remind me to ask xD)

When you are sad - I will help you get drunk and plot revenge against the sorry bastard who made you sad.

When you are blue - I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

When you are worried - I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining.

When you are confused - I will use little words.

When you are sick - Stay the hell away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.

When you fall - I will point and laugh at your clumsy ass.


	23. Guess who?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Huh, been quite a while since i've said that hasn't it.

* * *

Naruto looked around the destroyed village sadly while sitting up on a rather large rock nearby the survivors. He was keeping a lookout for fiends that were usually left behind in Sin's wake; Sinspawn they called them. He was told they would all have to be killed off eventually or Sin would return for them, but as it was now saving the few who survived the attack had to take priority. He glanced over to where a woman was dancing on the water while holding a staff, with small lights dancing around her as she did. Pyreflies, he would recall them being named. He had to admit; as depressed as he currently was, his interest was peaked. Here was a woman who appeared out of nowhere and was effortlessly water walking while dancing; though in this world, it almost assuredly wasn't the water walking he was accustomed to.

He sat up before dusting off his pants and jogging over to the small crowd that had gathered to watch the woman, and he noticed that they all had their heads down in deep prayer. Realizing the importance of the event, Naruto copied them, bowing his head towards the water and simply enjoying the sounds and the light dancing on the edge of his vision. Hearing talking nearby, he closed his eyes and listened closely to what they were saying.

"So what's she doing?" He heard a boy said, probably relatively close to his own age. A woman sighed, probably irritated at his questions during what seemed to be a fairly important ritual.

"Yuna is currently performing the Sending. It is a ritual performed by summoners to call upon the Fayth, and ask for their help in leading the lost souls of the fallen to the Farplane." She seemed to get slightly sadder after saying this. "If the ritual is not performed, those who died, but did not accept their death, will become the Unsent, wandering our world. Eventually they become envious of the living, with that envy slowing turning into hatred for all living things. Once that happens, the Unsent transform into fiends." The boy seemed to grow solemn after this, and Naruto could understand why; knowing the souls of your friends and loved ones could turn into monsters if not sent was not a pleasant concept.

And so, for one of the few times in Naruto's life, he stayed quiet, allowing the ritual to take place, as he wished Maxie peace in the afterlife.

* * *

Naruto allowed a small smile as he waved goodbye to Mizu. She seemed alright physically, and while mentally she was quite distraught over the loss of Maxie, she seemed to be handling the information well. Naruto flinched at the thought that the monster had followed him here, and his eyes hardened with new determination. He wouldn't just kill Sin, he would completely destroy it, purging it from this world entirely and away from all these good people. He didn't want any more attacks like this, and would work his damned hardest to prevent others from happening.

Stepping onto the boat which he had heard was going to some city called Luca, Naruto bounced up onto the railing of the ship and crouched on it waiting for the ship to leave port. He decided that even with as many bad things that have happened near the water lately due to Sin, he still loved boats. It was just so calming being out on the open sea with all the seagulls and the fresh air. Naruto smiled to himself and looked around the boat from his position on the railing, seeing the summoner woman near the front of the ship with a few people standing near her, one being a blonde haired boy and the other what looked like a lion man, but blueish in color. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't taken much of a look at the summoner herself. She had short brown hair and carried a staff with her, one of the few things he had noticed earlier. She was probably slightly taller than him, and wore a type of kimono and skirt ensemble where the top half was white and the skirt was a blue color with flowers imprinted on it. Overall she was very pretty, and when she turned and made a small wave at him he waved back slightly before turning back to look at the water. It wouldn't do to look like some kind of pervert who keeps staring at people.

Naruto hopped off the railing and decided to explore the inside of the ship, though after going below deck there didn't seem to be much there. He saw a couple of people kicking a blue-colored ball around, and a merchant with a rather large backpack and a cloth layed out in front of him with a bunch of bottles and weapons lying on it, he was looking down at the floor and seemed pretty down on his luck, to be honest.

The Kyuubi container moved over to the man and started looking through the bottles while attempting to start up a conversation. "So, you seem pretty down. My name's Naruto, what's yours?" He asked politely.

The man puffed out his chest and declared; "Name's the legendary merchant O'aka the 23rd, born from a long line of merchants. Have you heard of me?" Naruto shook his head no, surprised to see someone act so closely to how he used to act. "Ah, I see. Well, that may be because im not quite legendary yet. But I will be, make no mistake! I shall be the greatest merchant who ever lived!" However he sighed slightly after his little display. "Well... if I get out of this slump im in I guess."

"Slump?" Naruto questioned, blinking his blue eyes in confusion while staring at the odd man.

"Yes, I seem to have uhm, overshot my boundaries when it comes to gil, you see. Although I have these things to sell, I have no actual money to my name to purchase lodgings or food until I happen to get lucky and sell something." He looked down at the floor again, seeming somewhat ashamed of himself. "What kind of great merchant can I be if I cannot keep track of the amount of my own earnings? The ticket for this boat took everything I had left when I was sure I would have had a couple thousand gil left over."

Naruto thought hard to himself. He did have a few thousand gil but... it was money given to him by Mizu for lodgings and food of his own, though he _could _just sleep under the stars. He really wanted to help this guy, though...

He sighed and pulled out his wallet, handing a couple thousand gil to the man without thinking. "Here... take it, I really don't need it much." Naruto was hoping he was telling the truth about that, he wasn't sure how much things costed around here. Meanwhile the man looked up to him nearly with tears in his eyes.

"Y-you mean it sir? Really? Oh thank Yevon, im saved! There are still nice people in this world after all!" The man shouted while grabbing his hand and shaking it vigorously, while Naruto flushed slightly from the praise and the fact people nearby were beginning to stare. "I will never forget this sir, never! And I'll pay you back, I promise! Is there anything from my stock you might want in the meantime? Please, take anything, you have no idea how much this has helped!" The Kyuubi vessel sweatdropped slightly, it couldn't have been quite that important could it have? But, as asked, he decided to at least look through the man's items to see what he had for sale when something off to the side caught his eye. It looked somewhat like a simple tan color piece of cloth, but when he reached for it and picked it up, it seemed more like a cloak and muffler. He had to admit he was intrigued, he put the muffler part of the ensemble over his head and around his neck and marvalled at how comfortable it was despite its ragged look. The material covered his shoulders and could be pulled up to cover his mouth, while the actual cloak part of it billowed around his body and down to about his ankles, in his opinion making him look more wise than he was.

"Ah, you have a good eye sir, I had almost given up hope on ever selling that. Its a sand cloak, mostly useful in the desert and, being made by Al Bhed most people naturally stay away from it." Naruto nodded to himself at the man's words. He would take this, it even reminded him of Rikku. O'aka thanked him again for his donation and purchase, promising to pay back the rest of the gil someday, even though Naruto really didn't mind. Smiling at the man he began to walk up the stairs again before the boat began to shake slightly, but noticably. The engine started up and the boat finally began to leave port.

* * *

Naruto wasn't quite sure how long he had been sleeping. Though the people on the ship were looking oddly at him now. Not surprising really, considering while sitting on the railing of the boat he had dozed off looking at the waves, and sat there perfectly balanced throughout his entire nap. He flushed slightly again from the attention he kept getting from these weird situations. It really wasn't that big of a deal, he used to do it all the time in Konoha, sleeping on the edges of tree branches and such. Though he guessed sleeping against the trunk of the tree, even while on a branch would have probably been a smarter idea.

Suddenly a loud crash jostled the whole ship, almost sending a couple people overboard and knocking most people off their feet. Naruto got to his feet and felt something growl from inside of him, which could only mean...

"SIIIIIN!!!!!!!" He heard someone yell, as Naruto got to his feet and ran to the front of the ship where the summoner and her escorts were. At that moment a giant fin rose up out of the water, swaying from side to side slightly and keeping perfect pace with the boat. While it was rising up out of the water, Naruto could see a single blood red, slitted eye staring down at the boat, specifically, right at him. Growling deeply as the eye sunk back underneath the waves, Naruto drew his sword and got ready for a fight, at the least this time, he wouldn't be completely useless.

**"Kit, you aren't ready for this. We won't win."** Naruto heard Kyuubi growl out in his mind, repeating what he already knew.

"Yeah, we can't win but... we can make it back off or stall it, until we reach our destination." He said while narrowing his eyes and keeping a close eye on the fin as it moved back and forth, preparing to attack the boat."

**"It's still a long shot, but yes, I suppose you're right. Its the only real chance we have. We've escaped harm twice before through luck; we can't guarantee we'll be so lucky again." **Kyuubi grinned, even staring death in the face as he was. **"This time, we don't run."**

Naruto grinned back in his mind, showing off his feral teeth and whisker marks. "We fight."

The creature seemed to actually grow angry at the thought of this little creature not being afraid of it, and made a wailing sound that Naruto had to cover his ears for, before picking up speed and ramming into the boat. Hearing the boat creak and splinters fly in all directions, the blonde remembered where it was they were fighting. They were on a boat in the middle of the ocean and their enemy was probably a couple hundred yards out into the ocean, he couldn't even reach it! So how could he _fight _it?

Just as he said that, the summoner and her companions stepped up to fight, as she said; "Leave this to us." Another woman in a black, revealing outfit and carrying a doll stepped up next to the summoner, along with a man with orange hair stuck up in a spike, and carrying one of those blue and white balls under his arm.

"Yah, lets do this!" The man yelled as suddenly the ball was coated in a thick layer of ice before he kicked it, it bounced across the water before smacking into the fin and shattering the ice before bouncing back to the man. The monster growled loudly, but otherwise seemed unphased, backing up and ramming into the boat yet again. Splintering the boat and causing people to shield their eyes. The woman in the black dress frowned and was surrounded by a pale white light before tossing her hand in the air and bringing it down swiftly, causing a lightning bolt to magically appear and strike Sin's fin, causing it to make a pained sound and back off for a moment. The fin then suddenly began spasming widely before shooting several black dots up into the sky, which quickly came back to earth and crashed into the boat, before unfolding into bug-like creatures about half the size of a person, screeching wildly and flapping its little wings.

"Alright, I finally get to do something!" Naruto yelled before crossing his hands in a familar sign. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" As four clones poofed into existence next to him, he settled into a comfortable fighting stance in front of the creatures as two of the summoner's other guardians stood next to him, ready to fight. Apparently the ones who couldn't reach the fin, like he couldn't.

The blonde quickly sliced his weapon forward, easily bringing down one of the Sinspawn while sending two clones each to take down other spawn. Turning to another one he was about to kill it before he had to backflip backward to avoid another 'seed' that dropped from the sky impaling him, which quickly unfolded into yet another of the creatures. Naruto cursed and brought his sword over his head before bringing it down harshly on top of the creature, crushing it into the deck of the ship with his sword as it turned into pyreflies. As he smirked the other sinspawn he had forgotten jumped and bit down on his arm, clinging to him and tearing at his side with its little legs. The Kyuubi vessel hissed in pain before smacking it in the head with the hilt of his sword and throwing it off his arm, and then kicking it further down the deck into the waiting sword of one of his Kage Bunshins.

Naruto cursed and shrugged off the pain of the bite as Kyuubi began to heal the damage inflicted while the blonde homed in on another creature and impaled it, its scream matching the one of sin itself as its fin was assaulted by magic. Hearing a whistling sound in the air Naruto dodged again, avoiding four more Sinspawn seeds more hitting them as they unfolded into more of the annoying little creatures. They began to spread out trying to surround him, but the vessel began to quickly backpeddle to keep them all in front of him, it wouldn't do to be attacked from behind. As he did he grabbed a kunai and threw it quickly, having it whistle through the air before going into the head of one of the fiends as it dropped to the deck and began to dissolve into pyreflies.

Continuing to back up Naruto came back-to-back with one of the summoner's guardians, who seemed to be in the same situation as him. Covering each other's backs they waited for the Sinspawn to attack before quickly cutting each of them down. They were really weak, it was just freaking difficult keeping them all in view when they kept falling from the sky like that. Turning to quickly thank the guardian, Naruto pointed at him in shock as the other blonde did the same.

"YOU!" They both yelled at each other as the vessel gaped as he saw the boy he found in the cave being attacked by fiends, the cave he went to before Rikku's boat sunk by being attacked by Sin. Quickly regaining their senses however they both turned and quickly sliced another Sinspawn in unison, which Naruto had to admit was quite amusing. Before he had a chance to say more however, another screech from Sin hit everyone on the boat causing them to all cover their ears from the volume. Most of the sinspawn protecting the fin had been shot at the boat, leaving it more vulnerable to the magic that it was still being pelted with. The creature made a groaning noise and sunk below the surface of the water. Everyone was still cautious however; why would the creature leave? It may have been hurting, but it was obviously very far from being in danger of dieing. Naruto pondered this for a moment before multiple sinspawn seeds suddenly shot out of the water near the boat, crashing into Naruto and knocking him off of the boat as their momentum continued and he was pushed deep under the waves.

* * *

It's been a while huh everybody? Couple years? Not quite sure and too lazy to check when this was last updated. I've taken this story off of the "permanent hiatus" status I originally had it on, since for some reason I just had an urge to write it, kinda weird.

I can't promise I won't end up stopping again sometime down the road, but for the next while, you can probably expect some regular updates. I hope this chapter is to your liking, as I think my writing skills have improved a bit, though my storytelling skills may not have, heh.

I have also fixed some typos in chapter one along with a plothole in chapter 17. While I do kinda wish to change some parts of the story I created when I was younger, I felt that wouldn't be a good thing to do and will instead just fix mistakes and move on with new chapters. Please read, review, criticize.


	24. Yuna

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Or FFX for that matter.

Naruto shook his head in a daze and tried to take a breath, quickly regretting the action when seawater flooded into his lungs. The blond paddled upwards, breaking the surface and taking a deep breath before feeling something grab his leg and pull him back under once again.

Now with a full breath of air he was at least able to take stock of the situation. There was a giant... _squid _pulling him under, or at least what looked like one, and he grimaced in disgust before swinging his sword downwards and cleaving apart the tentacle that was holding him.

The monster screeched in pain and Naruto scrambled for the surface once more. There was no reason to fight this damn thing on its own turf, especially with Sin still down here under the water somewhere.

**"Kit! Behind!"** Kyuubi urged and Naruto quickly looked behind him to see the monstrous form of Sin bearing down on him.

His eyes widened comically and he paddled even faster, desperate to get back to the boat where he at least stood a fighting chance against the giant whale-like embodiment of terror.

It opened his humongous mouth and swam forward, its intent obvious. It was trying to eat him, and Naruto had no intention of being food. Just before becoming giant monster chow, he plunged his hellfire blade into Sin's upper lip to avoid going into its mouth. The giant whale monster only seemed irritated, and before it could do anything else Naruto swung himself on top of the monster, clinging to it with chakra.

Naruto sighed in relief as Sin broke the surface and allowed him to breathe. The relief was short-lived however as he suddenly had to dodge a needle attack from behind. He turned and his eye twitched at the sight of hundreds of little Sinspawn all aiming to take a shot at him.

"Where the hell did all you bastards come from?" Naruto deadpanned before dodging another needle attack shot at him. All of the Sinspawn suddenly took this as their queue to rain needle hell down on him, forcing him to hold Goukatoushin out in front of him vertically like a shield. For once in his life he thanked the gods that he was short.

**"Sin seems to be far enough away from the boat now for them to be safe, you need to get out!" **Kyuubi exclaimed and Naruto paused to think.

"Wait, I haven't been focusing on distracting it at all. I've just been trying to survive. How are they already far enough away?" Naruto said and looked behind him, seeing the ship as a mere speck in the distance. Naruto gaped and had to resist growling.

"YOU BASTARDS DITCHED ME!" He cried out and quickly turned and ran across the water, placing the sword on his back and hoping it'd still act as a half-decent shield. At the same time he made about three dozen kage bunshin and had them stay back so Sin wouldn't immediately follow him back towards the boat.

**"They probably assumed you were dead the moment you fell into the water." **The fox mused. **"Not many could survive being in the water with Sin."**

"That doesn't make me feel much better." The blond mumbled. "They could have at least TRIED to help."

Naruto ran as quickly as he could across the water, wincing as dozens of the tiny little needles found their way into his legs, the only part of him not sufficiently protected by the blade. He refused to let them slow him down though; they didn't seem to be poisoned, so if he just pushed past the pain and got away from Sin he'd be fine.

After what felt like a lifetime of running he actually caught back up to the ship. He swore he could have died with relief, he didn't even care that a bunch of people were pointing at him running on the surface of the ocean.

With one last leap he landed on the surface of the ship, panting in exertion and adrenaline still coursing through his system. The blond ninja looked around and noticed a circle of people had formed around him, with them whispering among themselves.

**"I guess they're pretty shocked about the whole walking on water thing." **Kyuubi chuckled and Naruto couldn't help but agree. It didn't seem like a big deal to him but it must be shocking to these people.

Deciding he didn't like the attention he was getting, Naruto moved to stand up before suddenly crumpling to the deck again. He blinked in confusion before looking backwards and grimacing.

It seems that his poor legs had taken more damage in the escape then he thought they had. The constant burning sensation of Kyuubi's healing, combined with the adrenaline pumping through his system had caused him to ignore how much they were actually hurting.

His legs from his knees down were pretty much a bloody mangled mess, he wasn't even sure how he had been running on them. Looking back on it though he wasn't all that surprised; there were thousands of needles in the air at one time back then, of course tons of them would land in his legs even if they weren't being aimed there.

"Uhm, would someone mind lending me a hand?" He questioned, and looked on curiously as the people actually backed away from him.

Now he was just confused. What's up with these people?

A moment later he ended up getting his answer. Someone pushed their way to the front of the crowd; he recognized her as that summoner lady from Kilika. Her short brown hair was damp with sweat, yet she still managed to hold a somewhat regal look with the white and blue robe-like clothing she was wearing.

She grimaced when she caught sight of his legs and moved to help him before she was pulled back by someone in the crowd. "You mustn't Lady Summoner!"

The woman frowned at the one who pulled her back; though from his position Naruto couldn't see who it was. "And why not?"

The man seemed to pause for a moment, as if searching for the right words, when someone else in the crowd spoke up on his behalf. "He sprints across the water like a fiend, and wears the clothing of the Al Bhed!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the one who said that. These are the people whose lives he just saved? Refusing to help because of the clothing he wears? Not to mention the fact that he had lived with the Al Bhed for a while and knew first hand that they were good people.

**"Completely useless, all of them!" **Kyuubi growled out. **"Just move somewhere more reclusive and start removing the needles so I can heal you myself."**

Naruto nodded, it didn't look like he would be getting a lot of help here. He grunted and pulled himself to his feet, despite the shocked gasps of the onlookers, and pushed himself through the crowd to limp away to somewhere away from prying eyes.

Ignoring the warnings of the crowd, the summoner walked up to him in a sort of panic. "You really shouldn't be moving around in that condition!" She exclaimed.

"I'm fine." He retorted, though he was assuredly NOT fine, and she could see him straining to move. "I'll only need to be moving for a minute anyway, then I can start treating myself.

She bit her bottom lip and seemed to be arguing with herself for a moment before resigning herself to just following behind him silently, though she did make another protest when he tried to walk up the stairs to the small upper level of the deck.

When Naruto sat himself down and began the slow process of removing the needles from his legs, the woman was still just standing there, and he had to wonder just what her problem was.

"Would you... like some assistance?" She asked quietly, as if unsure if she should even be asking the question.

Naruto grinned up at her. "Are you sure? I could be a fiend you know." He said jokingly. The woman smiled and the blond had to admit, she was quite pretty.

"You do not seem like a bad person. I would... like to help." She said with a smile. "I am Yuna."

Naruto thought back to the sending at Kilika. That's what that woman had called her wasn't it? Naruto smiled back. "I'd appreciate the help, this would take a while by myself. My name is Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

* * *

It did indeed take a long time. A few hours of just meticulously plucking the needles out of his legs isn't the way Naruto wanted to spend this boat trip, but it couldn't really be helped. At least he had someone to talk to, and Yuna was really nice. He even got to meet some of her Guardians when they came looking for her. He had met Wakka, a spiky orange-haired guy who was pretty cheerful, and a gothic looking woman with long black hair and big breasts, called Lulu. He wasn't sure if he liked her much, since she kept glaring at him suspiciously.

Summoners in this world could apparently summon "Aeons" rather than just a specific kind of animal. Aeons were powerful spirits created by the Fayth, which were people who sacrificed themselves to try and help defeat Sin. The Fayth weren't really dead; they were just eternally dreaming, and their dreaming could make things reality, which was where Aeons came from.

This stuff was probably general knowledge for Spira's people, so Naruto was thankful that Yuna didn't make him feel like an idiot when he was asking questions. Yuna probably just thought he was delirious or something and was just answering to placate him, though what he didn't know was that Yuna had actually answered most of his exact questions not too long ago to a different blue-eyed blond.

She also told him more about Sin, and it was nice to get some concrete answers about the monster he'd have to kill. Though it seemed like most of what she said was just guesses at best.

"Sin is the embodiment of all of our crimes, our sins. It does nothing but consume and destroy, and it will continue to do so until we have atoned." She stated sadly.

"What have we done that is so terrible to make a monster like that destroy everything?" Naruto questioned, honestly very skeptical about the whole thing.

"There were many wars fought in our past, using Machina. Both sides would fight harder and harder, with both building more and more powerful Machina, intent on destroying the other side." She frowned to herself and pulled another needle out of his leg. "Eventually, the war was over once and for all. And our reward... was Sin."

"It killed everything on both sides, didn't it?" He said, more of a statement than a question. Yuna nodded.

Kyuubi whispered a question to him and Naruto decided to ask it, being quite curious himself. "You say Summoners are tasked with defeating Sin. Even with all these summoners, nobody has ever succeeded?" He asked curiously.

"Oh, many summoners have succeeded in the past." She said and smiled. Naruto on the other hand just looked more confused.

"But... its still here. How is that succeeding?"

Yuna frowned. "Sin will never completely go away until we have atoned for our sins. We may defeat it... but it only brings the Calm, the time between when it is defeated, and when it returns. It always comes back after it is killed."

"But doesn't that seem rather pointless then?" Naruto said offhandedly, but he suddenly had to back up as Yuna got right up in his face.

"Please do not say it is pointless!" She exclaimed, and Naruto blinked. That was the first time she had ever really spoken up. Whenever she normally talked she seemed downright meek.

She seemed to notice how close she was and how confrontational she got and sighed before sitting back and removing the last few needles from his legs.  
He began to wonder if he had really upset her before she spoke up again softly.

"Even... even if it is only for a short time. During the Calm, people may walk outside without always glancing towards the ocean like scared animals. Children may sleep safely in their beds, not wondering whether or not they will wake the next morning." She dipped her head slightly, letting her bangs shadow her face. "Time like that... is worth any cost. Please do not say it is pointless."

Naruto smiled sadly. He was actually rather touched with how heartfelt she was being with this. "I understand, I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry."

Yuna smiled back, pulling the last of the needles from his leg before pressing her hands to his wound, with her hands glowing with white energy. It reminded Naruto a lot of medical jutsu.

After a few moments she removed her hands and he marveled at the smooth, mended flesh. Yeah, definitely a lot like medical jutsu.

"Thanks a lot for your help." He said happily. "It would have taken a while for me to do it myself. And thanks for not making me seem like an idiot for asking questions like that." Naruto said and flushed slightly in embarrassment.

"Its no problem, I was happy to help." She chirped happily and stood to leave. "And the questions weren't as odd as you may think. Being close to Sin tends to make people lose their memories."

As she left Naruto blinked at that little tidbit of information. It was very convenient.

**"You know most of what she said was religious nonsense." **Naruto nodded, he had picked that out for himself. **"A monster doesn't stick around for centuries because of the sins of man. That's just people being egotistical, thinking they're the center of everything that happens."**

"You don't have to put it like that." Naruto said out loud.

**"It is true though. It isn't sticking around because they haven't atoned; its still here because its never been truly 'dead'. Even us Biju work like that; being believing us immortal when we return after being 'killed', when in reality we were never 'dead' in the first place, since we can never truly die."**

"So do you think that means its like a Biju? And we can't kill it?"

**"I don't know if it has similar properties to one... but I can say for sure that it isn't one. Which means we can probably kill it."**

Naruto grinned. "That's all I needed to know. Doesn't matter how big it is, or how powerful, or how dangerous..."

**"... It can bleed, and therefore, it can die." **Kyuubi grinned as well, in an identical way to Naruto.

* * *

Yeah yeah I know, I'm such a liar when it comes to updating. Sorry.


	25. Luca

Naruto gaped as the city called "Luca" came into view over the horizon. It was a lot bigger than Kilika, and definitely way bigger than the Al Bhed's Home. It was probably about the size of Konoha, with mostly white buildings and a gigantic white dome in the center; definitely the focal point of the entire city.

He moved to the front of the ship to get a better look, noticing a familiar blue-eyed blonde next to him that had the same idea.

The shinobi made a small wave, attracting the blonde's attention. "Hey. Your name is Tidus right? We met back in that fight with all the fiends…"

"Yeah, I remember." Tidus replied with a small shiver. "You're… Naru… Naru…"

"Naruto." The ninja supplied helpfully, with Tidus giving a grateful nod.

"Yeah, talk about coincidences right? Meeting here probably a hundred miles from those ruins."

"No kidding." Naruto laughed good-naturedly. "I know it's kind of a long shot, but you haven't seen Rikku have you? The girl who was there when we met?" The shinobi questioned, trying and failing to keep the hope out of his voice.

Tidus frowned. "No, I haven't, sorry. After Sin attacked the ship I washed up on Besaid. I haven't seen any of the Al Bhed since then."

"Damn it." Naruto cursed and kicked at the deck of the ship pitifully. "Back to square one I guess."

"So is that why you're heading to Luca? To find Rikku?" The blonde warrior asked, trying to steer the conversation to a slightly less depressing topic.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, that's half the reason at least." The ninja replied, but kept the other half of the reason to himself. Tidus would probably think him crazy if he said he was on a mission to kill Sin. "So why are you going to Luca then?"

Tidus laughed in embarrassment while reaching a hand up to scratch the back of his neck. "Well, I can't really remember where I come from because of Sin's toxins messing with my head, so I'm going to Luca to see if anyone recognizes me."

"Ah, I see." Naruto smiled, though inside was suspicious.

'_He's lying. I'm not sure why, but he is.' _Kyuubi agreed silently inside his head.

The conversation eventually drifted to a few mundane topics before dissolving into silence, neither having much more to say to the other. Both blondes simply watching Luca get closer and closer.

"**We'll have to start training when we get some solitude." **Kyuubi stated and Naruto nodded to himself in agreement. **"You can try and find a blacksmith for that sword of yours, but against Sin it isn't likely to help much one way or the other. We're going to need some serious firepower."**

'_And I'm all for that. I love making things go boom.' _Naruto grinned in his mind and Kyuubi just smirked, fading into the back of his consciousness.

Neither blonde noticed a presence behind them, until said brunette shouted "Boo!"

Naruto and Tidus both jumped a little and spun around, seeing Yuna trying in vain to hold in her giggles. "I swear I'm seeing double. You two are so alike."

"You think so?" They both said at the same time. After a moment they seemed to realize what happened and tried to deny it.

"We are not!" Of course, they both denied it simultaneously as well. They both turned and glared at the other, again, in perfect unison.

Yuna simply giggled some more.

Yuna brushed a stray hair in front of her face back into its proper place and smiled warmly. "Come on Tidus, we should get ready to disembark, it'll only be a few more minutes until we reach Luca. It was nice meeting you Naruto."

The shinobi smiled and nodded. "Likewise. Good luck on your pilgrimage." Yuna bowed to him before walking away while Tidus just gave a little wave before doing the same.

Naruto had learnt about the summoner's pilgrimage last night, when he became curious of how exactly Summoners defeated Sin. Apparently they went on a pilgrimage across all of Spira, praying at all of the various temples and receiving their blessings and Aeons. Once that was done, they travelled to the ruins of a place called Zanarkand and received the Final Aeon, which had the power to defeat Sin.

'_Of course, it just kept coming back and nobody bothered to find a way to truly defeat it.'_ Naruto thought with a grimace.

He pushed the thought away and waited anxiously for the ship to pull into port. He liked boats and all, but he didn't really feel safe on them anymore. The water was Sin's domain, and it never failed to attack him when he was anywhere near the water. He just wanted to get to ashore, go really, really far inland and train for a while, away from the constant looming threat of the whale-monster.

He paused at that thought. _'Hey Kyuubi. Do you think anyone in Spira has even questioned why the physical form of all of their sins and wrongs is a giant whale of all things?'_

Kyuubi let out a bark that resembled a laugh. **"Probably not kit. They seem to accept things at face value."**

Naruto laughed out loud and some of the people on the ship looked at him oddly. He couldn't help it though; it was pretty absurd when you stopped to think about it.

His laughter dying down to a dull chuckle, he took his first step into Luca.

* * *

Naruto groaned in frustration and thumped his head against a nearby wall. Some of the passerby stopped to look at him but none bothered him outside of a glance. Naruto didn't really care one way or the other.

"Why can none of them work with this damn blade? What's wrong with it?" He growled to himself, not getting an answer but honestly not expecting one anyway.

Goukatoushin was apparently more special than he believed, which was becoming far more of a hindrance than a help. There weren't many metalworkers in this city, and nobody would take the job of repairing it for him; sharpening it and repairing the structural integrity that he assumed would be shot to hell from years of being lost in the desert sands.

Apparently though, he was wrong. Everyone he took it to simply said that there's nothing wrong with it that they can see, and a few of the younger, more cocky ones who attempted to sharpen it quickly found that nothing worked. The grinders did nothing for it, it was simply too tough.

Which was actually pissing the blonde shinobi off. Sure, it was cool to know his sword was strong and wouldn't break on him. But if his blade couldn't _cut,_ what was the point? It was basically a gigantic damn club.

He held the sword up in front of him and sighed. "It was cool that I found you and everything, but I may have to ditch you for a katana or something at this rate." Naruto said and frowned. He understood that it wasn't very practical, hell he had a ton of trouble just swinging the damn thing around, and when he did he mostly just crushed things with it.

It had sentimental value though. He found it on his first dig with Rikku, and he didn't want to just leave it lying somewhere.

Leaning against the wall he sighed. Before he could even plan out his next move though he saw Tidus, Lulu, and a large blue bipedal lion that Yuna had called Kimahri running out of a nearby café. He was a Ronso. They seemed to be in a bit of a rush, and by that he meant that they were bowling over any unfortunate person that was in the large lion-creature's way.

He quickly caught up and ran alongside his fellow blonde. "So, what's up? You're all in a pretty big rush."

"Yuna's been kidnapped by the Al Bhed!" Tidus growled out, not even noticing who he was talking to. He turned his head and did a double-take. "Naruto? Why are you following us?"

Naruto raised his eyebrows at the fact that it was the Al Bhed that kidnapped the summoner. He didn't like the sound of that. "At first it was because of curiosity, now I think I'll follow you to help you out with rescuing Yuna. She's my friend too."

Tidus nodded thankfully, glad for the help, though Lulu looked back at him suspiciously. Kimahri didn't seem to care one way or the other, just rushing forward faster and faster, across the different numbered docks.

Out of nowhere, a brown blur crashed into Kimahri, knocking them both into a wall. It was a small brown Machina walker, like the ones that had attacked Naruto in the desert. It only came up to about Kimahri's chest, but it was avidly trying to stab him with the spike on the end of its 'arm' while the Ronso struggled with it.

Naruto and Tidus both rushed forward, each grabbing one of its respective 'arms' and ripping it away from Kimahri, tossing it further down the docks. Suddenly a bolt of lightning shot out from behind them and fried the Machina, causing it to fall apart in a shower of sparks and singed metal.

The blonde shinobi glanced back at Lulu to see her with a small smirk on her face and her hand outstretched, a little smoke coming from her palm.

'_Oh yeah, she thinks she's soooo cool.'_ Naruto thought childishly, grinning when more of the small metal monsters moved out from behind some boxes, obviously intending to attack.

The shinobi removed his sword from his back and held it out toward the Machina. "Alright! It's time to pay you guys back for that ambush in the desert!" He rushed forward with a grin and absently noticed that Tidus had drawn his own sword and leapt forward to slice apart one of the machines.

Bringing his sword down in a helm-splitter Naruto crushed one of the Machina into the floor with ease before making a single Kage Bunshin, having it appear behind one of the machines and fling it overhead, out into the ocean.

'_Two down.' _He thought but then sweatdropped as a miniature army of the little mechanical monsters moved forward to swarm them. It was easily a few dozen.

"Well they aren't too hard to destroy but… this might take a while." Naruto said to himself absently, the other three people with him mentally agreeing with him.

* * *

"You bumbling IDIOTS!" A girl raged, kicking open one of the doors on the ship. Everyone on board suddenly got a cold chill down their back.

"What the hell would possess you guys to do something like this?" She growled at the three Al Bhed men in front of her. They looked down in shame.

"Well, we had started saving the summoners anyway… so we just figured we could get something extra out of it, you know?" One of the men mumbled out, refusing to meet the girl's eyes.

"But blackmail? Over a damn blitzball game!" She shouted and raised her hands up over her head in exasperation. "We're supposed to be the good guys! Not criminals! We don't kidnap people to make the worst damn team in the league throw their game!"

The men winced. It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

The girl just sighed and dropped her arms, glancing at them with a defeated look in her eye. "Who did you take?"

The three Al Bhed looked at each other then shrugged. They had no idea. The girl groaned and covered her face with her hands.

"Where did you put her?" She mumbled out and they all pointed in unison to the cargo hold. She walked over there and opened the door, eyeing the girl inside.

Yuna was sitting there obediently, her robes dirtied but otherwise she was fine. She looked up calmly when the door opened; revealing her differently colored eyes and tilting her head in a silent question, not realizing the action made her look adorable.

The girl who opened the door took a sharp intake of breath and slammed the door shut again. She stared at it and her eyes watered slightly.

"Yunie…" She mumbled. There was no mistaking Yuna, the fact that her left eye was blue and her right was green made her nearly indistinguishable, even after all these years. She wiped her eyes and turned back to the three men, who all looked pretty surprised at her outburst.

"Maybe you guys didn't mess up that bad after all. Though you're still on cleanup duty for all this blackmailing bullshit, understood?" She said in a no-nonsense tone, causing the three men to groan, but knowing they had gotten off easy.

"Yes Rikku." They replied in unison as Rikku stepped past them and towards her room. She really needed to lie down.


End file.
